You're a Girl
by Sparkshine
Summary: Post DH, pre-Epilogue. This story follows Ron and Hermione through the processes of a wedding, and through Hermione's first pregnancy. Demanding jobs, conniving ex-girlfriends, hormones, what could possibly go wrong? Little bit of Harry/Ginny in there too
1. Wedding Plans

"_You're a girl."_

"_Oh, well spotted!"_

Chapter 1: Wedding Plans

A/N: This is going to be a long story! Will follow Ron and Hermione through the process of having a wedding, and through Hermione's first pregnancy. Hopefully it should be pretty good! Please R&R! Don't care if you read three words or three pages, every review counts! Hope you readers enjoy!

"Molly! Molly, how does this look?"

"Oh, darling, you know I think it looks wonderful! Maybe a few alterations though…"

Hermione turned around in the mirror, admiring the long train of the white dress she was trying on. It had a beaded strapless bodice, a waist that clung to her own, and a sweeping satin train.

"What alterations would you possibly make to it?"

"Oh, I don't know…maybe a slightly higher neckline…"

Hermione rolled her eyes, picking up the skirt in her hands and turning around, which was quite a process. "Molly, I like your good intentions, but please, times have changed."

Her future mother-in-law smiled kindly. "Of course, of course. You're right, sweetie. The dress is gorgeous."

Hermione swept herself back around to face the mirror. "I don't know…maybe it's a little bit too much."

"Well—"

"Yeah. You know what? It's too much. Let's try again tomorrow."

"Well, if you're sure, dear."

They hugged as they departed the bridal shop, Mrs. Weasley heading towards the Burrow, a few miles from the shop, and Hermione to an alley to Disapparate back to the flat that she and Ron shared. Ron had proposed six months ago, exactly two years after the big battle. The two were both twenty years old.

The wedding was scheduled in five weeks, and everyone was starting to panic. Ginny, Hermione's maid of honor, had been scrambling around like mad, getting the flowers, the pavilion, the food, the music. She had insisted that she plan the wedding, and let the bride-to-be relax while things got done. Naturally, that wasn't happening, and Hermione herself was elbow-deep in the plans as well. The search for the perfect dress had been going on for nearly a week, and she still could find nothing.

With a _CRACK_, Hermione twisted on the spot and disappeared into thin air, reappearing seconds later in another alleyway in London, a block from her apartment. She smoothed her hair and took a deep breath. She had never really liked the sensation of Apparition. She hurried around the corner and up the stairs of the apartment building.

She turned the key in the lock, entered, closed the door, and leaned back against it, closing her eyes with a tired sigh.

"Hermione? That you?" Ron called from the kitchen.

She sighed again and her eyes flew open. "Yeah, it's me." She said, slipping her shoes off and walking down the narrow hallway to the kitchen. She found Ron digging through the storage cabinets, with an empty box of crackers in his hand and a carton of milk in the other.

"Ron! What on Earth are you doing?"

He shrugged, swallowing a huge mouthful of food. "You were late, I thought I'd eat before you got home." He froze. "Wait, you're not mad, are you?"

She checked her watch, a gift from Luna a few months ago. "Shoot, I am late. No, hun, I'm not mad. Just go to the table and I'll get some real food."

He shrugged again, pecking her on the cheek before going to sit at the dining room table. Hermione scrambled around the kitchen for a minute, quickly assembling a salad and placing it on the table in front of Ron.

He dug in quickly, pausing to ask, "Aren't you going to have some?"

She shook her head. "Too tired."

He grunted sympathetically. "No luck today?"

She shook her head again, tears starting to prick her eyes.

Ron looked up from his deep concentration on the food when he heard her sniffle. He looked alarmed. "What's wrong? Did I do something?" He asked with his mouth full. It ended up coming out more like, "At ong? I oo ing?"

Hermione rested her head on his shoulder. "No, Ron, you—" hiccup "—didn't do anything. I'm just starting to wonder if this thing is ever going to get done. We've only got five weeks left to prepare, and you don't even h-help!"

"So…I did do something?"

She hiccupped again and smacked his bicep lightly. "No, Ron, and I'm sorry to get all worked up…really stressful day…"

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Mum giving you a hard time?"

She giggled. "No, actually! If you don't mind me saying I thought she was going to be extremely worse! But with Ginny rushing around trying to do everything and with me trying to get stuff done and with half of the Wizarding World, it seems, trying to help, surprisingly nothing seems to be getting done!"

He laughed. "It sounds like you, sweetie, need to go to bed. You'll feel better in the morning."

She laughed softly. "If you say so, Ronald." She gave him a light kiss on the lips before heading off to the bedroom.

Twenty minutes later, when Ron had finished his supper and cleaned it up with a wave of his wand, the dishes falling haphazardly into the sink and the water shooting out of the faucet at an alarming speed to clean them, Ron himself padded down the hall to the bedroom. The light on was on, but Hermione was fast asleep. It looked like she hadn't even touched her book that night.

Ron slipped out of his Muggle jeans and t shirt and into a nightshirt and baggy pants before sliding under the covers. Hermione was curled toward him, her eyelashes fluttering and her hair spread across the pillow. He stroked her hair lovingly, the big bushy mane that had, in time, tamed itself into long, smooth waves down to her ribcage. He gave her a light kiss on the top of her head before flicking out the light with his wand and drifting off to sleep.

The next day when Ron woke up, he rolled over, reaching his arms out to wrap Hermione in them like he did every morning. But Hermione wasn't there. He sat up sleepily, calling "Hermione!" as loudly as possible. There was no answer.

He slipped his feet into slippers. It was nearly November and it was getting very cold in London. He slid down the hall, calling "Hermione!" again.

He stumbled into the kitchen to find a note on the table.

_Ron,_

_Gone out flower shopping with Ginny. I won't be home till later, I have a meeting with people to rent the venue at one and then I have to go to work for a bit. Breakfast (a piece of toast and jam) is on the counter, there's spaghetti and meatballs in the freezer, and we can order in some food for dinner. Please try and get some stuff done today, okay?_

_Love you,_

_Hermione_

Ron finished reading, immediately shuffling to the counter to devour the breakfast. A piece of toast. Slightly disappointed, he thought he'd go over to Harry's and see if he'd go get a butterbeer with him. They'd been meaning to catch up too; they hadn't seen each other in over a week. Since they lived less than six blocks apart, they felt this was unacceptable. He quickly Floo'd over.

Meanwhile, at Wizarding Bouquets, Hermione and Ginny were poring over different flower arrangements.

"I don't know, I like the lavender in here, but it might clash with the green in the bridesmaids' dresses." Ginny was saying.

Hermione shook her head. "No no no no no. I'm not having anything classified as 'lavender' at my wedding."

Ginny giggled. "Still a touchy subject then? Is Lavender even invited?"

"No she is not." Hermione stated matter-of-factly.

"Figured. Ron make any comment on that? Something very tactless? That would be very like him."

Hermione shook her head. "To be honest, Ron doesn't do much to help plan, and I don't know if I want him to. I can't seem to shake the feeling that he might completely screw something up if I leave him in charge."

Ginny shrugged. "Well you've got a point there. Let's just hope it stays this way."

Hermione shook her head to clear it. "No, Ginny, we're not getting off topic again! Come on, _this _at least needs to get done today!"

"Right, right. How about this? White and red?"

"No, too Christmas-y. Maybe the white and pink?"

Ginny made a "hmmm.." sound, her lips pursed. "You know? I like that. That'll look nice."

Hermione perked up. "Really?"

"No, Hermione, I'm lying to get your hopes up. Of course I think it looks nice!"

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. "All right then…well we've got that done!"

They placed their orders and left, scribbling Ginny's address so the flowers could be delivered in time.

The rest of the day went smoothly, certainly much more productive than the last. There was still no luck in finding a dress, but the arrangements were set for the wedding to be held at Ivy Pavilion, a giant, open structure not too far from the Burrow. Things were getting better.


	2. Krumble

A/N: Thanks for all the alerts and favorites! Although I do have to say…300 visitors and three reviews? Pleaseeeee people, I will love you forever if you review this story! But anything counts and everything is great. Thought I needed some more Ron/Hermione action so that's what the next two chapters are going to be. Also if I spell anything wrong in the Bulgarian accent way of saying things, I'm very sorry.

Chapter 2: Krumble

"_Please, _'Mione?" Ron begged.

"No, Ron." Hermione shot back.

It was the next morning, a Sunday, and Hermione was fixing her hair in the mirror, her back turned to Ron, who was still in bed. She could see him in the mirror though.

"Why not?" He practically whined.

She turned around sharply, her hands on her hips, reminding Ron dreadfully of his mother. "Because, I have tons of work to do! You know I still have no dress, right? And I do have a very high placed job that I could lose because of all the time I've been missing. So, no, Ron, I cannot come with you to a Puddlemere United Quidditch game."

He grunted, lying back in bed. She stomped over and pulled the covers off him, a rush of cold air chilling his body. "For Merlin's sake, get out of bed, Ronald!"

He groaned and swung his legs over the side. She was putting earrings in the holes in her ears and didn't notice him sneaking up behind her, until he placed his hands on her hips and put his head next to hers.

"I'm sorry." He murmured.

She kissed his cheek. "You're forgiven."

"Good. And I have an offer." He said, still not taking his hands off her.

She sighed. "What would that be?"

"If I take care of all the honeymoon arrangements, _and _promise to do a lot more for this wedding, will you please come with me today?"

She sighed, slamming her comb down on the table. "Fine. But if you don't keep that promise, Ronald Weasley, you will be in for it."

"I'll take that chance."

An hour later, they were on their way to the stadium, Hermione clutching Ron's arm so as not to get lost in the crowd pressing against them as he led them to their seats.

They settled in, Ron getting out a pair of OmniOculars and Hermione digging a book out of her bag.

"A book? Really, Hermione?"

"I was forced into this. I have no idea how to be entertained by this game and this book is very interesting."

Ron rolled his eyes and concentrated on the game as the players zoomed onto the field.

The next four hours passed in great entertainment for Ron and incredible boredom for Hermione. She had found it impossible to concentrate on the book with all the yelling Ron was doing, so she had put it down and tried to get into the game, but she had failed miserably.

During a time-out somewhere near five hours after the game had begun, Hermione heard a slightly familiar voice near her. She shrugged, wondering who it was but not looking around.

"Hermoninny?"

Hermione whipped around. "Viktor!" She exclaimed, hopping out of her seat in surprise.

She quickly walked out of the row and around to where her friend was standing.

"How are you?" She asked, breathless with shock. She shot a quick glance at Ron, who still hadn't noticed she wasn't sitting next to him.

"I am doing vell. And you?" He replied.

"Good, good. What are you doing here?"

"Watching the Qvidditch game, one of my friends is on this team. Are you…are you here with anyone?"

She nodded and pointed at flaming red back of Ron's head. "Ron Weasley, my fiancé."

"Oh…you two are…engaged now?"

Hermione nodded again, slightly awkwardly. "Yeah…the wedding is in five weeks." An idea came to her. "Would you like to come?"

He paused, his eyes flashing to Ron. "Vould your fiancé like that?"

Hermione bit her lip. She hadn't thought of that. "Er, yeah, I'm sure he'd be fine." She choked out awkwardly.

He shrugged. "Vell, if you're sure, I'd love that. Hey, vould you like to come up to the luxury box vith me?"

She pursed her lips. "How about in a few minutes?"

"No problem." He gave her quick hug before hurrying up the stairs.

Hermione went down back to her seat and placed her hand on Ron's bicep. "Ron? Can I go and hang out with Viktor and his friends?"

"Yeah, yeah sure." He mumbled, clearly not paying attention.

She looked at him suspiciously. "Ron, are you listening to me?"

"Hmm? What?" He asked, turning around.

"I asked if I could go and sit with Viktor for a little while."

This took a moment to process through Ron's brain and when it did his ears turned scarlet. "Viktor _Krum?"_

"Yes, Ron, Viktor Krum!"

"No, Hermione."

"What? Ron why not?"

"Because…because…no."

Hermione was starting to get mad. "Ron, you've given me no reason why not! Viktor is my friend, I'm not cheating on you if that's what you think!"

Ron's face was getting darker and he was starting to splutter, ignoring the looks he was getting from other spectators. "Hermione, it's not that I think you're…I trust you…it's him I don't trust!"

She stomped her foot. "Ron, I just want to go and talk to him, it's been like two years since I saw him!"

"You know what, this game is getting boring. We should go."

"What? Ron you were loving this game. This is just so…so…maddening! I want to go talk to Viktor!"

"Well, I say no. Come on." Ron grabbed her arm and twisted, sending them both into a dark, constricting tunnel and reappearing outside their flat.

Hermione yanked herself out of Ron's grip, her hair nearly crackling with electricity and her cheeks dark pink. She started ranting.

"RON! HOW DARE YOU? YOU CANNOT TELL ME WHO I CAN AND CANNOT TALK TO! VIKTOR IS STILL THERE, I TOLD HIM I'D BE JUST A FEW MINUTES! YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT! I AM SO MAD AT YOU RIGHT NOW RON! BUT WE'RE GOING TO BE SEEING VIKTOR IN A FEW WEEKS ANYWAY. I INVITED HIM TO THE WEDDING!"

Ron's face was equally flushed, but he tried to keep his voice under control. "Hermione, I've told you, I don't like that guy, and I don't like you spending time with him! That's it."

Hermione stormed into the flat and went straight to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. He could hear the muffled sounds of her crying into the pillow.

Ron collapsed on the couch, rumpling his hair with his hand. He could see a bit why she was upset at him, but he didn't like her with Krum, at all. He thought he had seen the end of him at Bill and Fleur's wedding. And now he was coming to their wedding? This day could not go any worse. But he decided to go talk to Hermione.

He knocked on the bedroom door. "Hermione? Open up, it's me."

"I don't want to talk to you, Ron!"

He sighed, before opening the door anyway. Hermione lay face down on their bed, her hair no longer smooth but huge and bushy.

He went over to her and sat down next to her, gently stroking her hair. She sat straight up, her face blotchy and her eyes puffy. "Go away Ron."

"No."

She pouted. Ron could see she was still angry but was starting to come around. "Ron, you were incredibly rude. You can't control who I talk to."

He sighed. "Ok, you're right. I can't. I'm sorry."

Hermione could see that he was compromising and decided to allow it. "Ok…ok."

"Come here." He wrapped her in a hug.

"Ron? When you promised to help more with the plans, did you mean it?"

"Of course I did."

She broke away. "In that case, here's a list. Have at least half of the things done by dinner." She stood up and left the room, Ron staring after her with a small smile on his face.

_That's my Hermione._


	3. The Mine Phase

Chapter 3: The Mine Phase

A week had passed since the disastrous Quidditch match, and everyone was starting to feel the strains of the stress plaguing the family. Hermione had at last found a dress, and all the arrangements were made, but it still felt like there was stuff to be done, and it wasn't getting done.

Besides a few meltdowns and nights when Ron resorted to sleeping on the couch, their everyday lives had been fairly normal. Ron and Hermione both went to work during the day; they both had jobs at the Ministry of Magic. Offices had been clamoring for them after the final battle, all wanting them in their departments. Hermione was working with Magical creatures and Ron had just passed Auror Training.

Ron came home one evening to find Hermione on the couch in a tank top and sweatpants, reading a book. "What're you doing home early?" he asked as he made his way to the closet to put his shoes away.

"Didn't feel that well."

He turned back around to look at her. She was lying on her belly, her chin in her elbows which were propped up on the cushions. He admired her cleavage for a moment before heading her way and sitting down next to her.

"What's wrong?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, just a minor headache I think. Thought it best to just take a break for once."

"Hermione Granger, taking a break from work, never would've thought." He said with a smirk.

"Oh, ha ha." She said sarcastically, moving so her head was in Ron's lap. She looked up at him.

"How was your day?"

"My day? Oh, fine, Kingsley just talked about some missions that might be planned—" He noticed her stare up at him in disbelief. "—But, but I told him I couldn't possibly go, I've got you." He faltered, not having done such a thing

She sighed. "Oh, thank goodness. Thanks for doing that." She smiled a beautiful smile.

He started to move away. "Well…what're you making for dinner tonight?"

"I thought maybe meatloaf."

"Great! Well you better get started on that then…"

"Yeah," she said, pushing herself up and heading toward the kitchen. Ron then had a great idea.

He saw Hermione in the kitchen, bustling around for some ingredients. Right when she started to wash something in the sink did he make his move.

He carefully slid his arms around her waist from behind, drawing her near him and flicking off the running water.

"Ron! What're you doing? Don't you want food?"

"I think maybe you deserve a break from that, too. We'll order a pizza or something." Ron had taken a great liking to the Muggle food of pizza. He tickled her belly a bit.

She smiled. "Thanks, Ron! I guess I do need a break from everything right now. Except for one thing."

"What?"

"You, Ron! I don't need a break from _you_!"

He laughed and squeezed her waist before lifting her gently and lying down on the couch, pulling her on top of him. She kissed him, first slowly, but then it became more passionate.

"Hermione, I love you."

The next day, Ron sat at his desk at work going over some files.

"Hey Ron, meeting in ten minutes, Kingsley's office." Harry called over to him from his own desk.

"Got it!" Ron called back. This meeting was probably because of these missions Kingsley was planning.

_Shoot. _He thought. _Gotta tell him I can't do those. Hermione'll kill me!_

Ten minutes later Ron was heading to Kingsley's office, scratching his head. He was already one of the top Aurors despite minimal training, and the Minister probably wouldn't like him saying he had to skip a mission. Then again, Kingsley knew Hermione…Ron just hoped that everything would be alright.

Once everyone was seated in chairs facing Kingsley's desk, Kingsley spoke in his slow, deep voice.

"As I'm sure you've all guessed by now, this meeting is to decide the members of the team we're sending to Elephant and Castle, to check up on some disturbances there. Potter, Weasley, Ellsworth, I'd like you to lead." He nodded at Harry, Ron, and one of their colleagues, Patrick Ellsworth.

Harry and Patrick nodded. Ron cleared his throat.

"I—I actually can't go on any missions in the next month or so."

The room's occupants, sans Harry, stared at him in disbelief. Ron looked around awkwardly. "What? I just can't."

"Why Ron?" Kingsley asked. He didn't look mad, just curious. For now.

"Well, I'm getting married in a month, and then there's the honeymoon and…well Hermione doesn't want me to risk anything."

A voice spoke from behind. "Then this means I'm going, right Minister?"

Harry and Ron tried to suppress groans. They didn't know how it had happened, maybe it had something to do with his family's money and influences, but they had ended up in the Auror Department with none other than Cormac McLaggen.

McLaggen spoke again. "Minister, I'm just as good as Weasley. Send me instead. I doubt he even wants to go."

Ron gritted his teeth. "I want to go, McLaggen, but I'm getting _married. _I _can't._"

The rest of the room was staring at the two wizards.

"You're probably just too much of a coward. Don't want to look ugly on your big day?"

Ron was breathing heavily. "Just shut up McLaggen."

"No, Weasley. _I _deserve to go on this mission. I'm not scared. You are."

Ron's ears were going red, a clear danger sign. "For the last time, Hermione doesn't want to take any risks."

"So? Take risks, Weasley! Your little fiancée deserves a _real _man."

"That's it." Harry tried to grab Ron's arm but it was too late. Ron sprang at McLaggen, swinging punches at his face. He tackled him to the floor, knocking over a few chairs in the process. He smashed him against the floor.

"ENOUGH!" Kingsley's voice boomed. Ron and Cormac froze, Ron's fist raised for another blow.

"Ron, Cormac, get out. I will not have this kind of fighting in my office. You're both suspended from work for one day. Neither of you will lead this mission. Now leave!" Kingsley's fist pounded his desk.

Both men were breathing heavily as they stalked out of the office, not looking at each other. Harry looked at Ron with a mixture of sadness and disappointment.

Ron stormed down to the Atrium and took the fireplace back to the surface before Apparating to his side of London. He took the stairs up to the apartment, his feet stomping the wood floor. He burst through the door and lay down on the couch, hating himself for being so stupid. He stayed like that until Hermione came home.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked, seeing the expression on his face.

He mumbled something.

"Didn't catch that, Ron."

He raised his voice a little louder. "I got suspended from work."

She gaped. "Why? What happened?"

"I got into a fight."

She went over and sat by his side. "With who?"

"Cormac McLaggen."

She groaned. "Oh, God, Ron. Why? What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! It was totally him!"

She looked at him skeptically. "Yet you're suspended from work, and you only have one bruise."

He sighed. "We're _both _suspended."

She made an upset noise. "Ron, what did he possibly say for you to risk your job like that?"

He mumbled again. She just glared.

"He was talking about you."

"Oh gosh. I don't even want to know, Ron."

Just then there was a knock on the door, but Hermione was just standing up before the door opened and a man with bright red hair walked in.

"Hey!" George Weasley called, grabbing a biscuit from the kitchen counter and stuffing it in his mouth.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Very polite entrance, George."

He smiled. "You know it. I just came over to—" He noticed Ron's state of being, with a bright red face and a bruise on his forehead. "What happened?"

"Ron got into a little—er—scrape at work."

George gave a huge smile. "Ah, Ronnie." He said, coming over and rumpling his little brother's hair. "What did you do now?"

"I got suspended from work because I got into a fight with Cormac McLaggen."

George let out a booming laugh. "What for? Over what?"

Ron just pointed at Hermione.

George laughed and gave his sister-in-law-to-be a playful slap on the butt. "Who knew this one would bring out such emotions in so many blokes?" He threw an arm around her shoulder.

"Oi!" Said Ron angrily, tapping his wand threateningly on the couch.

"_Relax, _Ron." Said both Hermione and George at the same time. George retracted his arm from around her.

"George, why are you even here?" Ron questioned crossly.

"Ginny sent me. Needs you for a suit fitting, Ronald."

Ron groaned. "Tell her I'll do it tomorrow. Now can you please leave?"

"Well, fine, I can see I'm not welcome here. I'll go now." He fake-cried.

"Good! Get out." Ron snapped. George gave Hermione another mischievous slap to her bum, just to annoy Ron, then Disapparated.

Ron sighed. "Thank the heavens he's gone."

Hermione sat down by his side again. "Ron, come on, lighten up. It was just a joke."

"I don't like my brothers and my coworkers and famous Quidditch players all touching you and fantasizing about you!"

Hermione gave him a sweet kiss on his cheek. "Just know that _you're _the only one that I want, and that you should not be getting so upset over such minor things."

He snorted. "Yes, because saying I'm not good enough for you is _minor._ And I don't want my brothers…touching you."

She rolled her eyes. "Just let it go, okay? And please, stop being so over-protective. It's nice when I'm being tortured by Death Eaters but when George does a prank it's totally unnecessary."

He looked into her eyes. "Fine. I'll try to ease up a bit."

She smiled. "And just for the record, I think you're just right for me."


	4. My Favorite Know It All

Chapter 4: My Favorite Know-It-All

"GINNY!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Ginny called back to Hermione from the front room. The wedding was in three hours and Hermione was in panic mode. She had just found a dirt spot on the front of her dress and Ginny had gone to fetch some Magical Mess Remover.

"Don't worry, I've got it!" Said Ginny, dabbing some of the remover on the spot. It vanished, and Hermione heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thanks so much."

"Just doing my job, Hermione."

"I know. And I just want to apologize in advance if I lash out at you, I—"

Ginny interrupted. "Hermione, you dealt with me while I was planning my wedding and Merlin knows I flipped out something crazy then. Don't worry about it, okay?"

Hermione smiled. "Thanks Ginny. That means a lot."

Meanwhile, in Ron's dressing room, Ron was silently freaking out.

_I'm getting married in 3 hours! Am I ready? Of course I'm ready, I love Hermione. But there are so many people here, what if I mess up? What if I say something wrong? What if Hermione gets all mad then? What if the honeymoon arrangements don't work out?_

Just then he heard a "Meow!" from behind him. He looked around, Crookshanks stood in the doorway, holding a dead spider in his jaws. He rubbed against Ron's legs, getting fur on his pants leg.

"Dammit, Crookshanks! Today!" Ron demanded. The cat just blinked up happily. He was dressed in a cat-sized tuxedo jacket, no doubt Ginny's idea.

Much to Ron's dismay, Crookshanks had lived a lot longer than to his liking. Pigwidgeon had died the year previously, so this just gave Ron another reason to hate Crookshanks. But he put up with him, because if he didn't Hermione would be very upset with him.

Ron performed a spell and the cat hair vanished. He picked up a piece of paper and practiced the vows again.

Outside the dressing rooms, George, Bill, Charlie, and Percy were guiding people to their seats. Important faces were seen; Kingsley was there (he and Ron haven had a long talk about appropriate office behavior and then shaking hands and putting everything behind them), as well as half of the Auror Department (obviously McLaggen was absent). Mr. and Mrs. Granger, having reunited with their daughter but still remaining slightly outside her magical life, were present, Mrs. Granger looking like she might burst with pride and her eyes nearly watering.

Viktor Krum was there, much to Ron's chagrin. He and Hermione had agreed not to argue about it, and after much nagging by Ron, she promised not to dance with him. Krum remained slightly off towards the back, his huge feet shuffling and his eyes shifty, trying not to be recognized by all of Fleur's cousins again.

Two hours later, Hermione was dressed, her hair done, her makeup in place, and her hands itching in nervousness and excitement. She had no regrets, no _"am I doing the right thing?"_ moments. She had loved Ron for such a long time, and she knew he loved her. This was the moment she was waiting for. But with all the past events in their lives, an inference she could easily make was that something was bound to go wrong.

_No,_ She thought, trying to convince herself. _Nothing can possibly go wrong._

"HERMIONE!" Ginny yelled. "C'mere, you need one small touch."

Hermione glided over to left side of her dressing room suite. She couldn't help but feel beautiful today, with her shimmering gown and perfect curls. She couldn't help twirling just to feel the way her dress swished around her ankles. And she couldn't help the grimace she got from Ginny as her maid of honor tapped her foot impatiently.

She let Ginny slip a gold headband in her hair. "There we go." Ginny stated proudly. "Now you're absolutely _perfect."_

Hermione smiled and leaned in to give Ginny a hug but Ginny ducked away. "Hey hey hey! Don't mess up your dress! Come on, you're on in like ten minutes!"

Hermione started taking deep breaths. Not out of nerves—at least she thought—more of the pressure. This _had _to go right. If any planning went wrong, no one would respect her ever again.

_Wait! Shoot! _She thought, her mind starting to race and sweat threatening to start beading on her flawless forehead. _Ron was supposed to take care of the honeymoon! And it's Ron! He probably didn't even do anything! I never even asked! _She was mentally kicking herself.

"Hermione!" Hermione's father came rushing up to her.

"Dad!" She exclaimed, about to give him a hug before she remembered what Ginny had said.

He smiled proudly at her. "You ready sweetie?"

She gave a small smile. "I think I am."

He pretended to be a bit stern. "I like this Ron guy, but if he ever does anything hurtful to you, anything at all, just—"

"Don't _worry, _Dad. I love him." She blushed.

He chuckled. "I know you do. Come on. It's our turn."

Hermione took one last breath. This was it.

She and her father began the slow, awkward walk up the aisle. Heads turned, people smiled, mothers cried. Hermione put her best face forward, smiling and keeping her eyes on Ron, standing at the altar with Harry at his side. Her two best friends.

Hermione didn't notice as her father left her when they reached the end of the aisle. And she sort of tuned out the speaker's droning. She was trying to keep herself under control by looking into Ron's eyes. She bit her lip nervously. She hadn't heard Ron's vows and was dying to hear what he'd say. The time finally came.

Ron cleared his throat. "I met Hermione when I was 11. The first thing time I ever said something of importance to her, I made her cry—" A few chortles were heard in the crowd—"And then Harry and I had to save her from a mountain troll. And then she lied for us. And when she lied, to a _teacher, _for us, I knew that we'd be friends. And over the years we had our ups and downs, but that's natural. Harry witnessed all of it. If you have any questions about some of our arguments, see Harry after the ceremony." Ron laughed. "But really, I've been with Hermione since I was thirteen. We might've taken some detours, but we made it here. I'd do anything for this girl and she's my life. Always has been, and always will be. She's my favorite know it all."

Hermione was trying not to cry. She wanted to throw her arms around him right then and there but knew she had to continue. She could tell her voice was trembling as she spoke. "Here I am, crying again, like that day in first year. And that day in second year. And third year. And especially fourth year. And pretty much every year after that as well. Ron's been making me cry for so many years now; out of sadness, anger, frustration, and right now, love. He's always made an impact on me and he never ceases to amaze me with both his spectacular character and his unending cluelessness." It was Hermione's turn to receive a few laughs from the audience. "But more the first one. He's the best person I've ever met and I know he'll be there forever. He's my favorite tactless prat."

The minister smiled. "Do you, Ronald Bilius Weasley, take Hermione Jean Granger to be your lawfully wedded wi—"

"Oh hell yes I do." Ron gave Hermione the smile that she loved so much.

"Do you, Hermione Jean Granger, take Ronald Bil—"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You may now kiss the bride."

A/N: I'm really sorry for the long wait, for some reason this chapter was a bit slow to write. I kinda borrowed some of the wedding moments from "Glee", my favorite show. So props to that. I was going to include Harry's speech but I'm superrr excited for the next chapter, which is going to be SO much fun to write! So I'm really sorry if anyone wants to give me something to add on, I'll be thrilled to see it. We're going to jump two years in the future after this chapter, just a warning. Thanks for reading, and don't forget:

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEWWW!

XOXO Love always,

Sparkshine


	5. Could It Be? Yes it Could

Chapter 5: Could It Be? Yes it Could.

Two years had passed since Ron and Hermione's wedding. To both of their surprise, everything went off without a hitch and nothing went wrong. Ron had taken Hermione to a wizard resort in the Swiss Alps. It had been an amazing time, a time neither of them would ever forget, because they had loved each other so much then. And now…

"RON!"

"I SWEAR HERMIONE, YOU ARE OVERREACTING! WHAT DOES IT EVEN MATTER?"

Hermione's face was a hot, angry shade of fuchsia which matched the color of Ron's ears. It was one of their legendary fights, the kind Harry had remarked upon during his best man speech at the wedding.

"To all those in Gryffindor with us, I would like to apologize on the behalf of these two, for quite often, despite their best intentions, often disturbed the peace around the Common Room."

And now they would have been raising many complaints from their apartment neighbors if it wasn't for the Muffliato charm Ron had cast.

"RON YOU KNEW I WAS SAVING THAT! EMILY AND GREG FROM MY OFFICE ARE COMING OVER TOMORROW NIGHT FOR DINNER AND THAT WAS WHAT I WAS GOING TO SERVE!"

"WELL YOU COULD'VE TOLD ME THAT!" Ron bellowed. "YOU HAVE TO TELL ME THESE THINGS, HERMIONE."

"AND YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO JUST KNOW!"

Ron turned his back on her, gripping his hair in frustration. Hermione was confused as to what had even started the fight. It had been a good day and then all of a sudden she had just felt so upset, like she had to take out her anger on someone. And Ron had just been there, eating a piece of the pie she had baked for dinner the next day. In truth, she wasn't all that upset, it would be extremely easy to just make another one. But she felt like she had all this anger just bottled up inside her, and it came from absolutely nowhere.

"URGH! RON JUST, JUST….UCH!" She couldn't even finish her sentence, but grabbed her purse and stormed out the door. She stormed through the dark, dank streets of Muggle London, rain pouring down and soaking her face already wet with tears. She purposely stomped through puddles, just for that feeling of breaking the peaceful tranquility it held.

After a few minutes, she arrived at Ginny and Harry's place, knocking at the door. She waited a few moments before Ginny answered, cloaked in her gold dressing gown.

"Hermione! What're you doing here? Is Ron ok?"

"Ron's fine." She huffed, motioning at the door. "Can I please come in?"

"Yeah, yeah of course!" Ginny said, moving aside and drawing her sister-in-law in. As Hermione stumbled in, shivering from the rain, she heard Harry call, "Who's there, Gin?"

"It's Hermione!" Ginny called back. Harry emerged from his home office as Hermione was drying herself with a quick wave of her wand. Harry's eyes were puffy from lack of sleep and his hair looked even more messy than usual.

"Good god, Harry, how hard have you been working?" Hermione questioned, shedding her sweater and giving her friend a hug.

He chuckled. "Pretty hard, to be honest. Gotta support my family, though."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "He's working _too hard _to be honest. We're doing just fine."

Harry and Ginny had had a little boy the year previously, and they had named him James Sirius. Hermione thought he was just one of the cutest things in the world. The first time Ron, James's godfather, had held him he had looked mighty scared, worrying that he might drop him or he might make him cry.

Harry rolled his eyes back. "Anyways, what're you doing here, Hermione? Anything happen to Ron?"

Hermione sighed. "No, nothing happened to Ron. Let's just say…remember sixth year?"

"Oh God."

"Yeah. Sort of a blowup. Can I stay here overnight?" She asked pleadingly.

Harry and Ginny glanced at each other, looking a little unsure. "Hermione, I think you need to go home and talk it over. Knowing you two, it was something stupid and knowing you it'll blow over fast." Harry said.

Hermione sighed. "Are you sure?"

Ginny looked at her with fake disappointment. "Hermione, you two are grown up now! Please, try acting like it."

Hermione pursed her lips. "Fine, fine. You're right." She gave both of her friends a hug.

"Good luck Hermione. And go easy on him, ok?" Harry said.

She just gave a frown as she left, quite upset. She didn't feel like going easy on Ron. She wasn't even really angry at him, but there was something inside her that just kept making her go off like crazy lately, and she had no idea what it was.

At home, Ron was in bed, reading for a change. He glanced up when Hermione entered, but didn't say anything. She almost felt better at him reading and was ready to make up until she saw the title of the book. _Quidditch through the Ages. _Did the guy ever stop thinking about Quidditch?

Hermione slipped out of her slacks and blouse and slipped into a lilac nightdress. She lay down next to Ron and slid under the covers, picking up her own book from the bedside table. They lay there side by side in complete, awkward silence, and that's how they both fell asleep.

When Hermione woke up, she felt completely different. She just felt so, so sorry for lashing out at him for practically no reason. She opened her mouth to apologize but Ron, sitting up in bed next to her started first.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. And I don't even know what I'm sorry for, but whatever you're upset about, I'm sorry."

She smiled. "I'm really sorry, too. Honestly, I don't even know what happened. Something just kind of blew up…so I'm sorry."

Ron leaned over and gave her a huge hug, wrapping her in his enormous arms. She was so much smaller than him. She was no taller than five foot six, and he was a towering six foot four. She smiled and hugged him back until she felt a sharp pain.

"Ouch!" She exclaimed, pulling out of his embrace.

"What's wrong?" He demanded, looking at her with concern.

She shifted her arms uncomfortably. "My…my breasts hurt." She grimaced uneasily, looking down. "And…and they feel larger."

"They look larger." Ron remarked. She threw him a dirty look.

Ron didn't love her just because she was beautiful, he loved her for who she was, and Hermione was so grateful for that. She knew so many people whose husbands or boyfriends only liked them for their bodies.

"No, Ron, seriously. This is weird. I feel like I'm changing, and my mood is always shifting and…." Her voice suddenly trailed off. A sort of glazed look came into her eyes.

He took her by the shoulders and shook her a little. She looked completely out of it. "What, Hermione? Tell me what's wrong, I'll fix it."

"Ron, if it's what I think it is, I don't think it's something you can fix." She gave a nervous laugh.

He looked utterly bewildered. "What is it?" He asked again.

"I—I have to go. Go to work, I'll tell you later." She gave him a short, sweet kiss before hurriedly changing into her work clothes and Apparating out of the room, leaving her husband looking completely lost.

Hermione didn't Apparate to the heart of London to the Ministry. She rushed instead to Ginny's house again, banging on the door on her arrival. Harry answered this time, dressed in just a loose shirt and boxers.

"H-H-Hermione," he said between yawns. "What're you doing here again?"

She barged in. "Is Ginny here?" She demanded. "I have to talk to her."

"Yeah, she's in the nursery feeding James. Why?"

But Hermione was already hurrying up the staircase.

"Ginny!" She yelled, bursting through the door of James's nursery. James, who was suckling from Ginny, started wailing at the loud noise. This earned Hermione a sharp glare from his mother.

"This better be good Hermione! Do you know how long I've been trying to calm him down?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. Hey, Ginny—"

"Did you make up with Ron? I'm not talking to you unless you've made up with him."

Hermione looked at her with disdain. "Oh, way to act 'grown up', Ginny. Listen, what were the first signs you had when you were…pregnant?"

She sat bolt upright and James started crying. Ginny adjusted his position on her but her gaze remained fixed on Hermione. "You don't think—"

"Just. Tell. Me."

"Well, I stopped having my monthly, and I would be really cranky one second and really happy and loving the next. I started gaining weight—" She stopped at the look on Hermione's face. "Hermione…are you…"

"I can't be sure." Hermione croaked out. "But…given the signs…"

Ginny yelled downstairs. "HARRY! THIS IS YOUR SON TOO! COME UP HERE AND CALM HIM DOWN! I'M GOING OUT WITH HERMIONE."

She pulled James off her, covering herself with her shirt and standing up with James cradled in his arms. When Harry finally came up the steps she handed him over. "We'll be back soon." Was all she said, and she grabbed Hermione's arm and with a _pop _they disapparated.

"Ginny, what're we doing?" asked Hermione, looking around. They were in front of a Muggle drugstore in the North of London. "Aren't we supposed to go to St. Mungo's?"

"Well, you should do that afterwards, but I found that Muggle pregnancy tests work just fine on witches, and they're pretty reliable." Said Ginny, marching her into the drugstore and straight to the aisle that stocked these things. She threw a few in a basket, Hermione looking rather confused.

"Why more than one?"

"Just to check the accuracy." Ginny replied. "Come on, I want to get this done as soon as possible. Oh my gosh, if you are, that would be—"

"I'm not betting anything." Said Hermione firmly. "Don't count your O.W.L.s before they've arrived."

After they'd checked out, Ginny looked at Hermione. "Your place or mine?"

"Yours." She replied firmly. "If Ron is there, I don't want him to know yet."

Ginny shrugged. "Fine by me."

With another _pop, _they were back in front of the Potters' house. Ginny took Hermione's wrist and pulled her inside, past Harry who was sitting, bouncing his son on his lap trying to get him to stop crying.

"Hey! Where're you—" He tried asking as they rushed up the stairs.

"Nothing, Harry!" They both called.

They scrambled into Ginny's bathroom and ripping open the plastic covering the pregnancy test boxes.

"Do you want me in here with you?" Asked Ginny nervously.

Hermione shook her head. "No, it's ok. Wait right outside, though."

Ginny nodded and stepped out, immediately starting to pace excitedly. Fifteen minutes later, Ginny was almost sweating with a mixture of emotions. Hermione finally emerged, throwing her arms around her sister.

"Oh my God! Are you-?"

"YES!" Hermione cried. "Oh, isn't this great! Ginny, I'm going to be a mother!"

Ginny hugged back, almost crying tears of joy. "Hermione, this is absolutely amazing! You'll make a wonderful mother! This is so much to think about…baby showers and shopping and—"

"Ginny let's focus on the health stuff first!" Hermione cried. Tears were leaking out of her eyes, and Ginny could tell she was unbelievably happy.

"But wait…" Hermione pulled away, suddenly a little nervous. "Remember how Ron acted around James the first time he met him? How is he going to take the news?"

"I…I don't know." Ginny replied truthfully. She knew that Ron was nervous around small children. "But…don't worry…we'll figure it out…"

A/N: Yayyyy a nice long chapter! I would like to give credit to icarlyfreak for the line about Hermione's breasts as a sign she's pregnant. I thought it was very funny! And for any of you who thought Ron's reply was a little…I don't know, but you know what I'm talking about…then I'm sorry, again borrowing from icarlyfreak because she's an amazing writer, and I wanted to throw a little humor in there. Thanks for the reviews, glad you all liked the last chapter! Keep 'em coming, God knows I hope and pray to see more reviews there every time I open my email!

XOXO Love always

Sparkshine


	6. Moment of Decision

A/N: HEYYYYYY

ALRIGHT, SO two breakups, three failed tests, and four tantrums later, I'M BACKKK!

Here's what happened: I started getting SO addicted to fanfic that I ended up nearly failing half my classes. My mom was worried so she had an intervention (hehe) and took away my fanfiction BUT YAYYY now that I aced all my tests since then and am back on track, I can write again! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 6: Moment of Decision

The door closed behind Hermione with a little _thump. _She hadn't felt like coming home just to lie around all day after Ginny's house, so she'd just walked around London aimlessly. She'd stopped in a few cafés just to sit at a bench and stare at the window at passerby, wondering what problems they had and if they amounted to her own.

_Ron probably doesn't want this kid…what if he doesn't want me anymore? I feel like I'm ready to be a mom and I think Ron will be a great father…but what if he doesn't want to be?_

She lay down on the couch and fiddled with a string on her shirt for about ten minutes. Her thoughts swirled around her mind like boats in a whirlpool. She felt her eyes closing. _I'm not going to sleep, I'm just thinking…thinking…thinking…_

"Hermione. Hermione. _Hermione." _

"Huh?" Hermione awoke with a jolt. Ron sat next to her, his hand on her shoulder gently jostling her awake.

"You fell asleep."

"I…I did?" Hermione glanced around. The sky outside the window wasn't clear and blue anymore, it was indigo with a few streaks of red as the sun went down. "I did, didn't I? Oh my gosh what time is it?" She leapt off the couch, rushing to the kitchen. "I didn't make anything, oh god I'm sorry I didn't mean to—"

"Hermione! Hermione, calm down! I made some food already. You probably deserved a little rest. Calm down!" Ron interjected, grabbing her hand.

She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

He hugged her. "For what?"

She gave a nervous laugh. "I don't know. What time is it?"

"It's around seven. When did you fall asleep?"

"I don't know…around four maybe? What did you make for dinner?"

Ron blushed a little. "Mashed potatoes."

Hermione shrugged. "That's fine. When did you get home?"

"Around an hour ago. I thought you might need a little more time to sleep."

She giggled. "I actually have no idea why I fell asleep. I wasn't tired or anything…just…overwhelmed…"

Ron's brow furrowed in confusion. "With what?"

Hermione quickly caught herself. "Oh, I don't know…just work I guess. Hey, can I talk to you about something?" She blurted out the last line before she had time to think about it. _Shoot! _

"Er, sure, but can you do it while we eat?"

She laughed. "Yes, of course!"

They sat down across from each other at the small dinner table. After food was ladled onto each place and pumpkin juice in each glass, Ron looked at her quizzically. "So? What's up?"

She took a deep breath. _"Ron, I'm pregnant."_ She wanted to say. But she just couldn't seem to get the words out. "I…I…"

He just stared at her, waiting for her answer.

"I…I need to tell you…I'm…" She could see he was trying not to roll his eyes.

"I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow." She finished lamely.

He looked at her like she was mental. "That's what you wanted to talk about?" He asked, spooning potatoes into his mouth.

She blushed. "Yeah."

He looked confused. "Er, ok. Have fun then, I guess."

"Ron?"

"Yeah?" He asked, taking a gulp of pumpkin juice.

"Have you ever thought about…having kids?"

Ron gagged a little on his juice. "What?" He spluttered, grabbing a napkin and wiping his chin.

Hermione, taken aback, stammered, "Wait, so…"

His eyes flew from her face to her belly and back to her face. "You're not…you're not…" stuttered.

"No! No, of course not!" As soon as the words left her mouth she mentally kicked herself. _Smooth, Hermione. Real smooth._

"Oh, ok. Well…" He looked considerably relieved.

"Ron, seriously though. I'm honestly…just curious. Would you ever want kids?"

He thought about it for a minute. "I don't know. I like kids…sort of…except when they're all annoying and stuff but it's more like…" his voice trailed off and his ears went scarlet.

"What?" Said Hermione, bursting with curiosity. "What were you going to say?"

"It's nothing. I forgot. Never mind."

Hermione saw right through his act. "Ron, please tell me!"

He sighed. "_Fine._ I'm not sure I'd want kids because…I don't think I'd be a good father." His cheeks now matched his ears.

She laughed, getting out of her chair and walking around to give him a hug. "I don't believe that, Ron!"

He looked at her as he pulled her onto his lap. "Serious?"

She kissed his cheek. "Of course I am, silly! You'd be an amazing dad!"

He smiled at her. "And why is that?"

"Because you're sweet, caring, and you love our family." She tried not to sound too mushy and worrying she had failed miserably.

"But you're not, you know, pregnant are you?"

She gulped. _This is it._ "Well, I…"

"Oh God, you are, aren't you?" He demanded.

She tried to read the look in his eyes, to see whether he looked happy and excited or nervous and mad. He usually wasn't a very good actor when it came to concealing emotions but today must have been his good day.

"Just tell me."

She started to cry. Ron looked suddenly alarmed. "What? What's wrong?"

She nodded, leaking tears and snot all over her face and his shirt as she sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm pregnant, Ron." She curled up in his lap, not wanting to see his face. She knew it. He was angry. He wouldn't want to stay with her now.

She felt her belly swoosh a little as he lifted her up into the air, and then dizziness as he spun her around. She could both hear and feel his booming laugh. "Hermione, this is amazing! We're going to be parents! He laughed some more, cradling her tighter in his arms.

She looked up, sniffling. "You're…you're not mad?"

He looked at her, his gleeful face darkening. "You thought I was _mad?"_

She hiccupped. "I don't know! The way you acted around James when he was born, you know, all nervous and kind of scared…I just thought you might not want…"

"I might not want the kid?"

She looked into his blue eyes. "But you do, right?"

Ron sat down on the couch, Hermione still in his arms. "I just can't believe you'd even be worried about that, Hermione."

"But I know I was wrong now! Oh, Ron, I'm going to be a mom!"

He kissed her tear-stained face. "You're going to be an _amazing _mom, Hermione? Can I…can I see?"

She laughed and repositioned herself, lifting her shirt up a little to reveal a mostly flat belly with a tiny bump protruding out. Ron put his cold hand on it, causing little goosebumps to pop up. He looked a little worried.

"Why isn't it kicking? Isn't it supposed to kick or something?"

Hermione let out a snort of laughter. "Ron, I'm only a few weeks, maybe a month or two at most! We won't be able to feel it for months!"

He smiled embarrassedly. "Sorry."

"It's alright, Ron. We're both going to have to learn a lot. And starting in a few months I'm going to take a break from work to concentrate on this."

"That's good. It's our first time and we should do it right."

She laughed, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm just so…so relieved you're ok with this!"

He looked at her sternly, though she could detect a twinkle in his eye. "Never, ever, think that I'd be upset with you for something like this. You just made this the most amazing day of my life, Hermione. What did you think was going to happen?"

She mumbled something under her breath.

"Hermione?"

"I thought you might leave me."

He pushed her hair out of her eyes so he could look directly into her eyes. "Hermione, I don't know how I can say this so you'll never have to doubt it but trust me, I will never leave you."

She tried to suppress tears of joy. "I love you, Ron."

He kissed her. "I love you and the little one."

A/N: WELL! WHAT DID YOU THINK?

This was a pretty fun chapter to write, actually! I've got some great plotlines for further chapters, so don't forget to keep checking up on that!

And as always, I hate to be that "annoying author" but I have to say "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEE REVIEWWWWW." Every chapter gets put on tons of alerts (and I'm SOOO grateful for those, don't get me wrong!) and perhaps the most flattering is "Favorite Author" but REVIEWS are what keep me running! So take two seconds right now, as soon as you finish reading this, and just click "Review." Say anything! (just no flames please!) I love advice, I love compliments and I love YOU.

XOXO, Sparkshine


	7. Breaking the News and a Few Other Things

Chapter 7: Breaking the News, and a few Other Things

"Well? What did he say?"

Hermione laughed. "He was happy about it! It's such a relief!" She was on the Muggle telephone with Ginny.

"I knew it, I knew it!" Ginny yelled. "I am SO happy, Hermione, I can't stop giggling or jumping around!"

"What are you, 13?" Hermione asked. She couldn't blame her sister-in-law, she was just as giddy. Until a worry settled over her again. "Wait! Ginny, have you told Harry yet?"

"Nope!" Said Ginny's bubbly voice. "I thought you'd want to tell the family yourself, like I did. Take your time."

"Oh, thank you so much—"

"But you only have until tonight; I invited the family over for dinner."

"WHAT?"

"Yup. Sorry, but I thought you should get it out soon."

Hermione was absolutely seething. "No, no, no. Cancel it. I can't do it tonight. I have to prepare—"

"Prepare what, exactly? How much work does it take to say 'I'm pregnant'? It's easy!"

"No, no it's not!"

"Really? Have you done it before, Hermione? No. Have I? Yes. Soo…" Ginny's voice trailed off and Hermione knew she was basking in the light of being right.

She sighed. "Fine…what time?"

Ginny perked up again. "Six o'clock. Bring dessert. Byeeee!"

Hermione sighed again as she clicked the phone off and dropped it on her desk. She loved Ginny to the ends of the Earth, but sometimes, like now, she was so…so…Hermione couldn't find a word to describe her, but now she had to figure out how to break the news to the entire family that night.

"Hey."

She looked up from some paperwork. Ron stood in the doorway to her office, smiling and holding a thermos.

"Hey!" She walked over to him and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. "What's in there?"

"Some lunch. Thought you might need a break from all that." He gestured towards the stacks of paper on her desk. Ron frequently stopped by her office at work, either to see her or to get out of his own work.

"Aw, thanks Ron!" They sat down on the couch in the corner of her office, talking and eating. Ron was leaving on a mission in two weeks to investigate some possible Dark happenings. Hermione was worried; no matter how many missions and how many awards he won, she would never be happy or excited to learn he was being sent off into danger again.

When his lunch break was done he gathered his things, gave her a short kiss and left her office. He was incredibly happy today. Yesterday Hermione had told him he was going to be a dad, and his entire position on life had changed drastically. He couldn't keep the smile lighting up his face away.

"Sheesh, Ron, how many Firewhiskies did you drink?" Harry asked, noticing how happy his friend looked.

"None!"

"So what's up? Why so cheerful all of a sudden?"

Ron tried to suppress his happiness. _Hermione probably wants to be the one to tell everyone. _He thought. "Oh, I don't know. Just a good day. Great weather, isn't it?"

Harry raised his eyebrows at him while sifting through some memos. "It's thunderstorming."

"I mean, I like rain, remember?"

Harry was trying not to laugh. "No, I don't remember Ron. Actually, I believe you hate rain."

"Well, then…" Ron faltered before coming up with another excuse. "A mission is coming up! Pretty exciting, right?"

Harry was looking downright worried. "You hate having to leave Hermione for missions, though…"

Ron was mentally scrambling for something to say. "George developed a new product and he's testing it on me!"

Harry's face looked beyond worried. He looked scared. "What's gotten into you? You're always trying to get out being the guinea pig." He thought for a moment before something clicked in his brain. "Hermione's pregnant, isn't she?"

"No, I…what?"

"She's pregnant, right?"

Ron was speechless. "How did you-?"

"Know? Because I acted exactly like you're acting now when I found out about Ginny."

Ron nodded. "Right, I think I remember that. But yeah, she is." A goofy smile spread over his face again. Harry clapped him on the back.

"Congrats, Ron, I'm happy for you!"

"Thanks, I—" Ron said before he was cut off by a cool voice behind him.

"So, you knocked her up, did you? Didn't think you had what it took, Weasley."

Ron and McLaggen hadn't spoken since their fight over two years ago. But Ron could see the way he looked at Hermione, and could tell that he had never quite gotten over missing his chance with her. It made Ron's blood boil when he caught notice of these looks, but he'd promised Hermione he wouldn't overreact again. But Ron was nearly stretched to breaking point.

Harry grabbed Ron's shoulder and tried to turn him away, muttering. "It's not worth it; don't let him get to you."

Ron nodded, and though his face was heating up he turned away. But McLaggen, clearly enjoying provoking him, wouldn't let up. "I have to say I'm impressed. When's the due date? How's the happy couple?" He sneered.

Harry continued to mutter under his breath. "Ignore it. Just walk away."

But Ron stood stock still, refusing to let Harry guide him away. McLaggen smirked and kept going.

"How's she feeling? I doubt you can meet all her needs, Weasley."

_CRUNCH. _McLaggen's nose broke as it met Ron's fist. McLaggen staggered back, blood pouring out of his nose. Ron was breathing heavily.

"Never, _ever_, say a word about my wife again, you hear me? Or you'll get a lot worse than that." Ron stormed away, Harry hurrying after him.

"What the hell, Ron? You could get sacked!"

"So what? Then I won't have to see that bastard anymore."

"Ron, Kingsley's going to be furious! And what're you going to do if you do get sacked? Hermione'll kill you!"

The realization of what he had just done crashed over Ron. He smacked his forehead. "Oh God…I—"

"WEASLEY."

"Shoot." Ron said. "That's Kingsley."

Harry gave a wan smile and shrugged. "Good luck."

Three hours later, Hermione was still yelling at him, and reminding him awfully of his mother. "COULD'VE RISKED YOUR JOB, YOU PRAT! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? WHAT DID I TELL YOU? OH MY GOD I AM SO MAD AT YOU, RONALD!"

Ron sat on the couch, his arms folded and his eyes looking toward the ceiling. Kingsley had given him a good talking, he was suspended _again,_ and Hermione was absolutely furious. Her face was a bright shade of red, and her fists were shaking.

"I—" She started again, but Ron cut her off, standing up and putting his hands on her face.

"Hermione, I get it, I'm sorry, and—"

"No, no, Ron!" She shoved him off. "You are NOT getting off that light this time." She turned around, storming down the hall, shaking her head.

"What're we doing tonight?" He called after her.

"Dinner with the family, at Ginny's house!" She yelled. "And I've got to announce that I'm—Oh my gosh, Ron, today? Urgh!" She stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door. Ron sat back down on the couch, his face in his hands.

Hermione lay facedown on her bed, trying not to pound the pillow with her fist like a twelve year old, her cries muffled. She did not feel like handling this now, why did Ron have to be such a hothead when it came to her? Why did Ginny have to do this _tonight? _And why did those damn Muggle kids next door decide to light firecrackers _now? _

She tried to blame her rollercoaster emotions on being pregnant, which was a weird enough thought in itself. _I'm pregnant, _rang in her head. She still couldn't wrap her head around it. Maybe it would be easier when she could at least see something. But right now she couldn't blame it on pregnancy; it seemed to be her hectic life.

A knock on the door. Ron. But Hermione didn't want this to end up the way it always did, with him coming in, comforting her, giving her a hug, and then forgetting about it. The door opened.

"Go. Away. Now."

He didn't answer, just sitting down next to her.

"Go away, Ron!" She sat up quickly, shoving the sheets up and storming to her bathroom, locking the door. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was starting to puff up, her eyes were swollen, and her skin was blotchy. She checked her watch. She only had two hours to clean herself up and—

Her thoughts were interrupted by Ron's voice. "Hermione, come on. Everything's fine, nothing too bad happened."

She sniffled. "How can you even say that? Do you take nothing seriously? Even your job?"

"No, 'Mione, I do, just—"

"No, Ron! Go get ready. Go do something! Just leave me alone! We have to be at Ginny's in two hours to tell everyone the news _and _pretend we like each other!"

Ron didn't respond, and she could hear him walk down the hall.

She spent the next hour and a half mindlessly cleaning the bathroom, using Muggle products to scrub down any inch of it. In truth, she was just looking for an excuse to not see her husband. She washed her face and crept out of the bathroom at last. Ron wasn't in sight. She took a nice change of clothes and shut the bedroom door before changing into them.

When she finally left the bedroom she found Ron standing directly in front of her. She avoided his eye contact, trying to step around him.

"Hey," Ron said, stepping closer to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. She still didn't make eye contact with him, even as he hugged her close to him.

"I still 'like' you, you know. I don't think I'll be able to pretend not to." And with that, he took her arm and Disapparated.

They walked up the walkway to the Potter house in silence, Hermione trying to look happy. She opened the door, and was almost blinded by a mass of curly red hair as Molly Weasley embraced her.

"Oh my gosh, dear, congratulation! Oh my gosh, this is absolutely amazing, I cannot believe it!"

Hermione, utterly stunned, looked past her mother in law to Ginny, mouthing _"You told her?"_ Ginny just shook her head.

"How—how did you know?" Hermione stammered, hugging Molly back. Molly looked surprised.

"Everyone knows dear! We've known since early this afternoon!"

"But…how…?"

"Oh, I don't know, someone's been spreading it around the Ministry. I heard Ron started it. But—"

Hermione broke out of the hug and threw herself at Ron, wrapping him in a hug. She didn't have to deal with telling everyone! No pressure at all! She kissed Ron right there in front of everyone, whispering, "I love you, Ron."


	8. Work Party

Chapter 8: Work Party

"Jeez, Hermione, how much of that have you eaten in the last hour?"

"I don't know, but all I know is I want more!" Hermione replied, shoving another mouthful of ice cream in her mouth. Ron looked at her in mild disgust.

"Oh, you're one to talk, Ron!" She shot at him, glaring. He laughed, putting his arm around her. She finally placed the ice cream aside and settled into his arms. It was springtime in London, and the weather was very fickle. One day it' be sunny and warm, the next raining and cold. It was raining at the moment, and the pitter patter of the raindrops on the roof of their apartment made it feel very cozy inside.

She rested her head on his chest as his arms wrapped around her. He was so much bigger than her, standing at well over six foot and her only five foot four. Sometimes she hated that she was so much shorter, like when she was home alone, had to restock the ingredients on the top shelf, and forgot she could use magic. His hand stroked her hair and she could feel herself getting a little sleepy.

"Mmm, how was your day?" She asked. He was back at work and avoiding Cormac McLaggen like the plague. It had been a week since they had told the family about her pregnancy, and Hermione was getting used to the constant owls and congratulations at work.

"It was okay, I guess. I missed you."

"I missed you too, Ron. It was lonely here today." She had told her supervisor that she would be taking a few days off, to get used to when she took a long-term break from work. Of course, this hadn't been the best idea. She had spent the day puttering around the apartment, cleaning random rooms, making the bed, and cooking massive amounts of soup. The steam and heat of the kitchen had made her hair puffy, frizzy, and wild. Her face had little smudges of soot on it from fixing the fireplace.

He smiled down at her, wiping the soot off with his thumb. "Yeah?"

She nodded, curling towards him so she was practically in his lap. "Yeah."

A comfortable silence fell between them, each just enjoying the other's company. Ron suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"Um, the date was changed for our mission was changed."

She sat upright. "What? When are you leaving?"

He looked uncomfortable. "Tomorrow."

"What?" She looked very sad, her eyes a little wet.

"But it's okay, I'll only be gone for a week!"

A few tears spilled onto her cheeks and he brushed them off with his hands. He pulled her back into his arms and whispered into her ear, "We can still use the time we've got left." He tickled her ribs a little.

She let a small smile lift the corners of her lips. "We can." She leaned into him, bringing her mouth to his. Their kiss intensified, her legs wrapping around his waist as he stood up, her hands tangled in his hair. His hands rested under her arse, holding her up. They stumbled into the bedroom, collapsing onto the bed.

**********************************SCENE BREAK******************************

When Hermione awoke the next morning, her body was covered by the sheets, which somehow were perfectly made. She sat up, squinting as bright sunlight streaming through the window momentarily blinded her. Regaining her sight, she looked around. Ron wasn't there. There was a note on the pillow where Ron had last been. She pushed the blankets off and scrambled to read it.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye, I didn't want to wake you up. I've gone on the mission; I'll be back next week. I'll miss you the entire time. I love you._

_ Ron_

She placed the note back on the bed sheets and lay back on her own pillow. It was going to be a quiet week. She was so wrapped up in her job and in Ron that she hadn't made all that many personal friends as an adult. Or as a kid, for that matter. She wasn't on speaking terms with Lavender Brown. She and Parvati had an uneasy friendship, and of course Luna and Ginny were her closest friends. Of course, Luna was a little…strange. She lacked social skills.

After reading a few more chapters of her book, she got out of bed. It was Saturday, and she had a day off. Stretching, she made her way to the kitchen. She found a plate there, with a stack of pancakes on it and a little piece of paper with a heart on it. Her heart warmed. Sometimes Ron knew _exactly _what to do. Sometimes.

*********************************SCENE BREAK*******************************

"Alright guys, good day!" Harry clapped his hands. They'd spent the day investigating circumstances, and so far had come up with nothing. Harry was just trying to lift their spirits by saying it was a good day. It hadn't been. He clapped Ron on the back as they headed to the Wizarding hotel they were staying at. It was a little shabby, but great accommodations weren't necessary. They just needed a place to sleep and eat.

They pushed through the doorway; Harry, Ron, Patrick, Cormac, and a few other Aurors named Jay and Oliver. Ron and Cormac weren't looking at each other, and Harry was doing his best to make sure they didn't even have to make eye contact.

"Let's get some drinks," Patrick suggested. "Might take our minds off our failure."

"Hey! We're doing fine. We'll do better tomorrow." Harry snapped, adding "But drinks do sound like a good idea."

The group made their way into the bar and ordered a round of firewhisky, taking seats on the raised chairs. Shot after shot, for over an hour. They began getting drunker, rambling off random sentences. Harry, trying to remain responsible, started looking around the bar, trying to locate his Aurors. There were Oliver and Cormac over by some witches, Jay and Patrick were drinking some more. But there was something missing. Harry shook his head to clear it.

_Ron! _Harry looked wildly around, trying to locate Ron. He couldn't see him anywhere.

SCENE BREAK

Heavy breathing came from the bathroom of the bar, presumably two people. If anyone had looked under the crack on the door, all they would've seen was a pair of bright red high heeled shoes.

"Come on, ginger, you know you want to." A woman's voice purred.

Ron, his mind completely hazy, mumbled something incoherent. He felt his face being caressed and lips brush his. He blinked, trying to focus on the woman opposite him. He could tell she had golden brown hair, hazel eyes, and a red dress. His mind finally shifted into focus.

"L…L—"

"Shhh, don't talk." He felt the woman place a finger on his lips. "Don't talk, Ron."

"How…how do you know my name?" Something clunked into his brain. "Lavender!"

The woman didn't answer, just grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him close to her. Their bodies were almost touching.

Ron shook his head violently. "Lavender, I—"

He was interrupted by the sound of buttons flying and cloth ripping as Lavender tore his shirt apart, stroking her fingers along his chest. He finally realized the full extent of what was happening and started pushing away. "Lavender, get off!"

"What if I don't want to?" Lavender said, running her fingers through his hair. He yanked it out, grunting at the pain as her nails scratched his face.

"Lavender, get the hell off! And put your dress back on! What the hell are you doing?"

"What we always used to do."

"Lavender!" He snapped, shrugging the shredded remains of his shirt off and pushing her farther away. "What. The. Hell? What's happened to you? You used to be…better. And anyway, I'm _married _now, so get off!"

Lavender did a double take, her cheeks flushing. "Married? To _who? _You married someone else?"

"What do you mean someone else? Lavender, we broke up when we were sixteen! That was a really long time ago! I'm married to Hermione now!"

Lavender's face was turning the same color as her name as she slipped her dress back on. "_Hermione_? Really? You can't be serious! You think she's better than ME?" She was almost screaming.

"Yes, Lavender, I do! Now get away! I don't know how you got me here, but it's a mistake. I can't be here!"

Just then, the door flew open. Harry stood there, and when he saw what was happening, he slowly backed away. Lavender, still hitching her dress up gave Ron a look of utter disgust before stalking out past Harry. Ron, shirtless, wiped his face and looked at Harry as he walked out of the bathroom. Harry was looking at Ron with anger and shock.

"Ron, what were you doing?" He asked. He looked furious.

"No, really, it was not what it looked like!"

Harry's eyebrows raised. "Really? And where is your shirt?"

Ron pointed at the bathroom floor, and then realized his mistake. "Really, Harry! Come on, you know I would never do that!"

Harry sniffed the air. "Ron, you're drunk. So…"

Ron looked outraged. "You cannot be serious, Harry. I would NEVER do that to Hermione!"

Harry glanced backward. "Is that _Lavender?_"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, she was—"

Ron heard a laugh behind him and whirled around. Standing there, smirking and looking between the half-naked Ron and scantily dressed Lavender, was Cormac McLaggen.

A/N: Ok, this was REALLYYY slow to write, I thought it would be more fun. Ahhh well. I'm very sorry to those Lavender fans, but I'm sorry, if you like Lavender, you shouldn't be reading a Romione fic anyway. And I know, I keep bringing up McLaggen, but it's actually pretty fun! If you don't like it though, just message me and I'll see what I can do! It's actually pretty fun to write though. ANDDDD AGAINNN

REVIEWWWW!

Let's say…15 more reviews until next chapter? Deal? Pleaseeeee? Say one word, say one page, I don't care please write! I will love you forever if you do! (Wow, I sound desperate!)

Allrighhhtt, XOXO, Sparkshine


	9. Home

Ron had left the mission a few days early, not wanting to see or face any of the other Aurors who had all seen what had happened between him and Lavender at the bar. Well, only the last part, which could easily be misunderstood. However he couldn't go back to his and Hermione's flat. What would she say about him coming home early? She worked at the Ministry, too, she would find out that the mission was canceled if he told her it was. But what would his excuse be if quit? He'd spent a few days just relaxing at a Muggle hotel, eating and laughing at the idiotic stuff Muggles did on the "television."

When he arrived home late Sunday night, he found Hermione listening to some music on the radio. He shut the door quietly as he came in. Hermione was fiddling the dials, so immersed in her work that she didn't hear Ron come up behind her.

"Hey." He whispered quietly.

She jumped about a foot in the air. "RON!" She clutched her heart frantically. "Don't _do _that to me!"

He laughed and plopped down on the couch next to her. "That never gets old."

She smacked his arm, scowling and crossing her arms across her chest. He looked at her with his eyebrows raised and his lip out until she smiled. "How was the mission?"

"It was…successful. And…eventful."

She looked concerned. "What does that mean?"

"Oh, nothing, it was good."

"Ok…" She didn't look convinced, but he could see she was going to leave it be for the time being.

"What did you do while I was gone?"

Hermione's eyes lit up. "Ginny and I went to St. Mungo's!"

He sat straight up. "Yeah? What'd they say?"

She smiled. "They said I'm fine, baby's fine, I'm three months now,and they gave me the option of finding out whether it's going to be a girl or a boy."

"Well? What is it?" He demanded.

"I chose not to find out. I want it to be a surprise." She saw his face. "Wait, did you want to find out?"

"No, no, it's fine! He or she will be our little surprise."

She smiled. "Yeah, definitely." She absentmindedly ran her hand over her belly. The small bump was getting a bit bigger, and the waistband of her pants was feeling a bit tighter. It was an awkward, uncomfortable feeling.

She stretched and yawned. "Have you eaten yet?" she asked Ron.

Ron suddenly realized his hunger when his stomach gave a large growl. "Er, no." He replied.

"Well, there's some bread and butter on the table, I'm going to bed okay?" She gave him a kiss and then walked down the hallway to their bedroom.

Ron shoved down a few pieces of bread before following Hermione. He opened the door slowly. The lights were off, and the only way he knew where Hermione was was the lump in the blankets. He took his pajamas out in the dark and pulled off his denims. As he struggled to pull his sweats on, hopping on one foot, he tripped over a pile dirty robes and fell backwards onto the bed, right on Hermione's side.

Hermione let out a cry of pain as she was knocked awake. She bit her lip, drawing blood. "DAMMIT, Ron!"

He rolled off her, grunting. "Sorry, 'Mione."

She shook herself, sitting up and clutching her rib. He propped himself up next to her. "What hurts?"

She pointed silently at her ribcage, squeezing her eyes to hold back light tears of pain. Ron wrapped her in a hug, gently massaging where he had bruised her. She winced. "No, Ron, don't touch it! Uch, do you have to be so clumsy all the time?"

He pulled away, holding his hands up by his head. "Hey, sorry, calm down."

"Calm down? Ron, I should be able to get enough sleep, especially when I _need _to be healthy, and not only for me, without your shenanigans!" She lay back down.

_That was mean…" _She thought. Urgh, it was SO hard to control her emotions these days, especially with so little sleep. She rolled over.

"I'm sorry, Ron, that was uncalled for." She pouted.

He smiled, hugging her. "It's ok. Just calm down a little, ok?"

"Ok, deal."

They both fell asleep within the next ten minutes, Hermione still holding her ribs.

When Hermione woke up, it wasn't because of the bright rays of sunlight streaming through the window, or the smell of bacon, but the crash of metal that came from the kitchen, and Ron's loud swearing. Blinking rapidly, she opened her eyes. More swearing ensued from down the hall. With a groan, she slid out of bed and made her way down the hall. "Ron? What's going on?"

"Oh, shoot!" Ron inserted some more foul language at this point. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake you up!"

Hermione spotted the pile of pots and pans on the floor, no doubt the crashing noise. "How did that happen?"

"I pointed at the wrong thing with my wand. I'm really sorry, Hermione!"

She yawned. "Oh, it's fine, I guess. What's for breakfast?"

"Bacon."

"Mmmm." She smiled in anticipation.

Their morning was rather quiet. Hermione was in the middle of going over some grocery lists when Ron burst into the bedroom. "Hermione, c'mon, you've gotta come now!"

She knitted her eyebrows in confusion. "What? Why?"

He grabbed her hand. "Just, please, come on!" They Disapparated.

When they reappeared, Hermione had no idea where they were. "Ron, where is this?" She looked around. The city street was lined with nicely sized houses, all with trimmed hedges and a small fountain in the yard.

"You don't recognize this? We're still in London. I just bought us this new house!" He beamed, pointing at the stone mansion in front of them.

Hermione gaped. "What? Ron, I—"

"BEFORE you complain," He cut her off, "It's a perfect house, you can decorate it, it's gorgeous, it's spacious, and we could easily afford it."

"I wasn't going to complain! Ron, it's gorgeous! I just can't believe you did this for us!" She threw her arms around Ron. "How did you manage to pull this off without me noticing?"

"You'd be surprised how distracted you can get when you're busy, Hermione. And Ginny helped me, I guess I can't take all the credit." He smiled embarrassedly.

Hermione smiled. "Can I look inside?"

A/N: Soooo….this chapter sucks…very slow, very boring, it's sort of just a filler chapter. With a bit of a cliffhanger at the end…I guess…Well, I'm not going to lie, I just wanted to update so I could get more reviews…Yeah, pathetic I know, but you have NOOOO idea how exhilarating it is to receive a new review, it really makes my day 10000000 times better! :D So, even if you didn't like this chapter, or just have an idea of ANYTHING (ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING!) you want to happen, just leave a review and tell me! I LOVE hearing your ideas for the story! Like really! So if you're still here and reading this pathetically long Author's Note, I love you

Review?

XOXO,

Sparkshine


	10. Writer's Block

Sooo…suffering a little writer's block at the moment…I'm up at two in the morning WANTING to write something but nothing will come I've got some GREAT things for later chapters, but right now I need some inspiration…I'm really sorry to everyone who saw that this was updated and found this. But right now I need your help…anything you want in this story? This is gonna be like interactive. Nothing big, like nothing with the whole Cormac/Lavender thing, I've got the plans for that storyline in my head, but any romantic, dramatic, anti-climactic, things you'd like to happen? PLEASE respond. At least three good ideas and I can promise a new chapter by Wednesday! Deal? I'll love whoever writes in their idea! Remember: Nothing climactic, nothing big. Just interesting, fun-and-romance-filled fun! All right as soon as I can get a spark we'll get the fire started again! Thank you!

XOXO,

Sparkshine


	11. Month 3: New Situations

Chapter 11: Month 1: New Situations

The walkway to the new mansion was lined with tulips. The day seemed to share the couple's good mood, yesterday's rain was gone and the sun was shining. Were those birds actually chirping? Such a cliché. But it was true. Hermione looped her arm through Ron's as they walked up the pathway, Hermione biting her lip. As beautiful as the golden stone house looked, and as fresh the flowers were, she couldn't help thinking it was a little bit, well, _posh. _After all, Ron had grown up in a converted 4-floor chicken coop, and Hermione had lived in a small brick house. A fountain in the yard? Hermione shook her head.

Ron noticed her small head-shake. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She cleared her head. The house was probably perfect.

At the doorway she took a deep breath. Ron scooped her up in her arms. She looked up at him questioningly and he shrugged. "I don't know, just seems fitting." They both smiled as Ron turned the key in the lock and carried her in. Hermione's jaw dropped.

The marble floors glittered. The chandelier glistened. The small stained glass window glowed from the rays of sun streaming in.

Hermione wiggled out of Ron's arms. "Ron…how…" She gazed around, awestruck.

"How…?" He looked confused.

"How did you manage to find something like this?" She nearly leaped on him, kissing his lips. He staggered back, but responded joyfully. Breaking away, he smiled. "You like it?"

"Oh my gosh…" Hermione felt like a kid trapped in a candy store. She raced all around the house in a frenzy, while Ron watched her act like a hamster for twenty minutes. She raced back to where he leaned against the door. Her hair, normally frizz-free, had regained the frizzy puffiness of her youth. Her face was as bright as a tomato. She grabbed Ron's hand and yanked him up the stairs.

Laughing, Hermione turned around at the top of the stairway. "I just looked all around the first floor. Ron, it's the best house I have ever seen! Have you seen it?"

"Of course! I didn't just buy this one on a whim; I looked at like 5 houses!"

"Wow…" She looked utterly impressed with her clumsy husband. He kissed her.

"Have you seen the bedroom yet?"

She shook her head. "I haven't been up here yet."

"Well come on then!" He pushed ahead of her and then pulled her up the next few steps.

There was a large landing with four doors. Poking her head in the first one, child room designs began forming themselves in her brain. Cribs, beds, dressers, toy drawers mentally assembled themselves as she gazed around the beige-carpeted room.

"What? What do you see?" Ron asked. He recognized those looks, when Hermione's eyes went blank and she started picturing designs, formulas, or wand movements. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Just…a room for the kid." She couldn't help the smile that broke across her face.

Smiling too, he pulled her away and showed her the room across the hallway. It was, with no doubt, the most beautiful bedroom ever. Ron had taken the time to furnish it, although Hermione had her suspicions that Ginny or some other family member had helped, because it was absolutely perfect. A gigantic bed graced one corner; a beautiful comforter with gold leaf pillows decorated it. She raised her eyebrows. "Why just the bedroom?"

A mischievous smile played on his mouth. "I thought you might want to christen the house?"

************************SCENE BREAK*******************************************

"Ginny, tell me honestly, did you help Ron pick out that house?"

"What? What house?"

"Ginny!" Hermione smacked Ginny's arm. The two were lounging on Ginny's couch chatting while Harry tried to complete some paperwork with James kicking and screaming in the highchair next to him.

"What? Ok, fine. I helped him decorate the bedroom. Did you like it?"

She smiled contentedly. "Yes, yes I did."

Ginny smirked. "Did you two have some fun?"

Hermione's face went white. "Ginny!" Harry looked over, grinning, which earned him a sharp glare from Hermione. "Ginny!" Hermione repeated, gaping. "That's your brother!"

Ginny shrugged. "I'm not as uptight about my siblings' relationships, remember?"

Hermione snorted. "Uh huh. But I am not going to answer that question, you impertinent witch."

Ginny smiled. "Ah, well. Worth a shot."

"So Ron managed to do something right for once?" Harry interjected.

Hermione pursed her lips jokingly. "Yes he did, Harry. And it wasn't the first time!"

He raised his eyebrows.

"No, seriously, it wasn't!"

"Hey!" A light entered Ginny's brown eyes. "You know what you should do?"

"What?"

"You should have a big dinner in the new house! Invite the whole family! I'll help cook."

Harry looked over again, snorting. "Don't count on that last promise, Hermione. Ask her what the last thing she made from scratch was."

"Ginny, what was the last thing you made from scratch?"

"Um…" Ginny searched her memory. "Scrambled eggs?"

"See? She never cooks! If you need help cooking for this dinner of yours I'd ask Molly, not her."

"Hey, you! James finally shut up, get back to your paperwork!" She jokingly snapped.

"Hey, wait a minute! I never agreed to this dinner thing!"

"Yeah, but you did. You should do it next weekend! I know Mum and Dad would love it, and I can get George to take the day off."

"Why are you _sooo _bossy?" Hermione asked.

"So you'll do it?"

"FINE." Hermione said, smiling. Now that she thought about it, a family dinner would seem nice.

********************************SCENE BREAK*************************************

"You're wearing THAT?" Hermione demanded.

Ron looked down at his white t-shirt. "What about it?"

"The family is coming over tonight!"

Stuffing a breadstick in his mouth, Ron shrugged. "They're my family! They don't care!"

"But your mother—"

"My mother what? I'm not eleven, Hermione! Who are you trying to impress anyway? You've been part of this family since you were fifteen, they know you! And if you dress me up George is just going to make fun of me."

"Oh, who's trying to impress the family now?" Hermione mocked. "Why don't I get a _My Sweetheart _necklace and see if that gets results?"

Ron paled. Was that a joke? Did she know about the whole Lavender thing? "What…what do you mean?"

She looked confused. "Nothing, but fine, keep that shirt, whatever."

"Oh, ok."

"Why, what did you think I meant?" She asked.

"Nothing, nothing!" He said hastily.

Her eyes narrowed. "You've been acting really strange recently, Ron…what's wrong?"

"Nothing! Hey, do you need help setting the table?" He quickly changed the subject.

"Yup. 9 seats."

The doorbell suddenly rang. "Oh gosh, who's early? No one in your family is early!" Hermione said, wringing her hands.

Ron opened the door. Bill, Fleur, and Victoire stood there. "Hey, Ron." Bill clapped Ron on the back. Fleur gave him a kiss on the cheek, and still after the years of this occurrence, Ron blushed.

Over the next ten minutes, the rest of the family arrived. George, flying solo for the moment, Molly and Arthur, and Ginny and Harry (Ginny proudly carrying a carrot cake, Harry holding James).

"What's for dinner?" asked Arthur, seating himself at the mahogany table.

"Steak, garlic potatoes, lasagna, shepherd's pie, and carrot cake."

George's stomach grumbled in anticipation. "How'd you manage to bake all that?"

Hermione smiled. "Ron helped."

Ginny and George burst into hysterical laughter. The rest of the evening passed pleasantly, with easy conversation and good food.

Two hours later, Hermione washed the dinner dishes while dessert was being served. Ron came in, carrying another load of plates and forks. "See? Nothing bad happens when my family is over."

Hermione smiled. "I know, sorry for being so tense. It's just I—"

Ron interrupted her by kissing her, at which point the door banged open, the two broke hurriedly apart, and Ginny said smugly, "Yup, I knew it."

A/N: YAYYYY, A CHAPTER! Not my best, but it was kind of fun to write! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all those who wrote in suggestions! THEY REALLY HELPED! Not only with this chapter but with the next one which is in the works! REALLY! You really helped me, you guys! THANK YOU! I love you so much! Ok, I know this is a little high, but…how about 20 reviews until next chapter? I would LOVE that! Again, thank you all so much for the love, I'm eternally grateful, and I love you all back!

XOXO,

Sparkshine


	12. Month 4: Stretching Pains

Month 4: Stretching Pains

"DAMMIT!"

Ron looked up from _Flying with the Cannons_. It was his eighth time reading it, and, to Hermione's dismay, was still the only book he had ever said he enjoyed. The yell had come from the new bedroom upstairs where Hermione had been sleeping.

"What is it?" Ron called up the stairs. He was trying his best to keep up with Hermione's random mood swings, her ridiculous cravings, and her incessant need to be perfect, but sometimes he lagged behind, and when he did there was hell to pay. Just last night, he had got vanilla ice cream instead of chocolate, and, well, Hermione had freaked out. She'd cried herself to sleep in his arms.

"UGHH!" Was all he heard. He sighed, making his way up the mahogany steps. The door to the bedroom was closed, but he could hear the groans. He knocked.

"Who is it?"

"Would it be anyone else but me?" Ron asked, before opening the door.

Hermione was lying face down on the king size bed in only a bra and underwear. Her body was raised a little off the bed by her baby bump, which was growing. It was May now, and the weather was nicer. This seemed to have no effect on Hermione outside her wardrobe and her body.

"What is it now?" He asked, standing in the doorway.

"Why do you use that tone?" She asked back, her voice muffled by the pillows.

"You didn't answer my question, 'Mione."

She rolled over, her dress riding up a little bit over her belly. She hastily yanked it back down. "You want to know what it is? I'll tell you! I. Am. Fat."

Ron groaned a little on the inside. He'd been expecting it. He'd been told to expect it, by Harry, by his dad, by Bill, and by Luna's husband Rolf. He had been dreading it ever since, the "fat" talk.

"I just tried putting on my favorite outfit. It doesn't fit! The shirt is too short and the pants are too tight. I'm getting so big! And this is only the fourth month! What am I going to look like in three months? I'll be an elephant!" Hermione started crying again.

"No…Hermione…" Ron eked out, sitting down on the bed next to her. He stroked her hair as she plopped her face back down in the pillows. "You won't be…"

He didn't really know what to say. He wasn't exactly what anyone would call "good with words". And it was hard to argue his point when he didn't really believe in it. Because, as awful and gasp-worthy to any woman it was to say, he didn't really like the way pregnant looked. He didn't want anyone to misunderstand, though. He loved that she was pregnant and he loved that she was carrying his child, but did it have to interfere with her perfect body?

Clearing his throat, he adjusted his tone. "Hermione, come on, you're not fat, you know it."

"I don't know it! Look at this! I can't lie comfortably in any way possible! If I try and lay sideways it hurts, if I lay this way it hurts, and you know I get headaches if I lay face up! I hate being pregnant!"

"It's only the 4th month, Hermione!"

"I knowwww!" She wailed. "It's only going to get worse!"

Ron mentally punched himself for saying something so stupid. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. He honestly had no idea what to say.

_Why isn't he saying anything? Why can't he just tell me I'm still beautiful? Why can't he be more like Harry? Ginny said Harry would tell her she was beautiful and sexy while she was pregnant! But Ron's never been as sweet or as sentimental as Harry. Gah why can't he be? Just for once? _Hermione's head rang. _If he's not going to say anything, neither am I._

Hermione knocked Ron off the bed as she stood up. She hastily smoothed her hair and tied it in a knot on top of her head before stalking out of the room. Ron stood up quickly. "Hermione, where are you going!" He demanded.

"I'm going out." She responded, stomping down the stairs barefoot. Ron hurried after her, tripping in his haste."Hermione, you're not wearing anything!"

She ignored him, swinging the door open and walking to the street.

_What am I doing?This is crazy! _Hermione thought. But she couldn't stop. She had to prove she was stronger than her idiotic husband.

A random man whistled at her, right before a pair of arms grabbed her from behind and put a hand over her mouth. "Stop walking. Come back home." Her panic subsided when she recognized Ron's voice. Grudgingly, she let Ron lead her back to the house, where he covered her in her bathrobe.

The two sat down on the couch. Ron noticed that Hermione looked exceedingly glum.

"Listen, Hermione. You're not fat, you never have been and never will be. You're _pregnant._ And that's beautiful."

She hugged him. "Ron, that was all I needed to hear!"

*******************SCENE BREAK*********************************************

It was getting warmer out. It only rained once a week, the sun shone, and the whole city seemed to Hermione to be livelier. It certainly was putting her in a better mood, as she had to restrain herself from doing a small skip in the middle of the street. She was on her way to Diagon Alley, to purchase some new books. She was getting used to having more weight on her body. Ginny kept warning her of the horrifying day when she would look down and not be able to see her toes.

She made her way into the Leaky Cauldron, keeping her head down and avoiding eye contact. The effects of the war had worn off in the past four years, but especially in a place like the Leaky Cauldron she always got questioned on her experience as part of "The Golden Trio." Thankfully, on this particular day, no one seemed to notice the witch in the purple robes passing through.

She tapped the bricks, letting herself into the alley. The place was bustling, with many older witches and wizards stocking up on magical supplies for the summer months, when the kids came home and were bored without the use of their wands. She looked around for anyone she knew. She recognized Nicole Taylor, a receptionist in her office. She waved hello before continuing.

Her afternoon passed pleasantly. _It's really nice to just have some alone time, _she though. Everything was just so busy. Ron's mother had been scheduling St. Mungo's visits here and there, and all the nurses and all the doctors and all the appointments was driving Hermione to the brink of insanity. Thank God she had her books, even if Molly had surreptitiously snuck in a load of pregnancy help books into the house.

After indulging in a triple chocolate walnut-ice cream cone—_Maybe this is where half the weight is coming from?_—she planned to head back home via the Muggle trains. Gathering up her bags, she started walking back towards The Leaky Cauldron, but had the wind knocked out of her when someone shoved her behind.

Catching her breath, she whirled around from where she now lay on the ground. A tall, thin woman with golden brown hair and hazel eyes glared down at her, her body-hugging yellow dress screaming "LOOK AT ME!"

"Lavender?" Hermione said in shock, pushing herself off the ground and holding her belly. It hurt a bit, and Hermione prayed it hadn't damaged the baby.

"Hermione." Lavender responded snootily.

"Why the hell did you just push me?"

"Oh did I? Sorry, accident." Lavender gave a catty smile that contradicted her words.

"That was not an accident! Lavender, I'm pregnant for goodness's sakes!"

Lavender's eyes focused on Hermione's bulging stomach. "Ron's baby?"

"Of course Ron's baby! Who else?"

Lavender's eyes gleamed and her mouth curled up a little. "Wow, you and Ron must be _soo _close now. I suppose he's told you?"

"What? Told me what?" Hermione asked, still brushing herself off from her fall.

"So he didn't tell you?" Lavender kept her catty smile on her face.

"TELL ME WHAT?" Hermione demanded, losing patience.

Something shifted in Lavender's eyes and she looked more serious. "That he's getting a promotion." She said, but her voice sounded a little shiftier.

"What? No, he didn't tell me…" Hermione drifted into thought.

"Well, yeah, he did. Some trusting relationship you two have."

"Ron's and mine's relationship is perfectly fine, Lavender!" Hermione's voice was rising in pitch. A few people were stopping and staring at the two witches' confrontation.

Lavender snorted. "Yeah, whatever you say, thunder-thighs fattie." And with that, she gave Hermione another shove to the chest and sauntered down the alley.

Under the stares of many people, Hermione tried to keep her tears at bay. _You're not 11 anymore, you're stronger than this. _She repeated to herself as she tripped her way back to the train stop. _Don't let her get to you like you used to._

Ron wasn't home when Hermione arrived, loaded with bags and with a little makeup smeared around her eyes from the tears that had poured out when, lost in her thoughts, she had tripped on the stairs leading to the house and banged her kneecap. That, combined with her encounter with Lavender earlier that day, had reduced her to a sobbing, weepy mess once again.

Just as she was putting some books on the shelves, Ron came in. "Hermione? You here? Why is the door open?" He called.

"I-I-in here." She called, her voice breaking. He walked to her, now curled on the couch, clutching a pillow.

"What happened to you?"

"N-nothing."

"Don't tell me that, what happened?" He said, plopping next to her.

"I met Lavender at Diagon Alley."

Ron's blood chilled a little. _Had Lavender told Hermione what had almost happened? That would explain Hermione's state._

"She told me about you."

Ron was becoming positively terrified.

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell me, Ron! I thought we told each other e-everything!" She hiccupped.

"Well…I didn't tell you because…" He stalled, trying to come up with an excuse.

"There was nothing to be afraid of! I'm proud of you, Ron!"

"I—what?" He stopped. _Proud of me? For almost drunkenly being seduced? What?_

"Your promotion!"

"My—"

"Why? What did you think we were talking about?" She asked sharply.

"My promotion of course!" He said wildly. _What promotion? Why did Lavender tell her I got a promotion? I never got a promotion! Why? _

"So why didn't you tell me?"

"I…I didn't want you to be embarrassed, y'know, that I'll be making more money than you." He invented on the spot.

She gave a small laugh, hiccupping a little too. "That's nothing to be embarrassed about!" _Not really…, _"Well, congratulations, Ron!" She hugged him. He hugged her back, thinking, _Where am I supposed to get the extra money now?_

*******************************SCENE BREAK*********************************

"Harry, please, you've got to help me!"

"Why? What is it? Why did you have to wake me up for this?"

"Because it's _urgent!" _Ron stressed. It was late at night, Hermione was passed out upstairs. Ron was talking quietly and quickly to Harry on the Muggle telephone.

"Well make it quick!" His voice was almost a whisper.

"I need a promotion."

"What? Ron, just cuz you're my best mate doesn't mean I can just—"

"No, listen. Lavender saw Hermione in London and told her for some reason that I got a promotion. I don't know why she told her that instead of…y'know…what almost happened on that mission." Hermione was asleep, but Ron instinctively made his voice even lower. "And now Hermione thinks I'll be working later and bringing home more income. And the only way I'll be able to pull that off is if I actually got one."

"Ugh, I don't know Ron, I'll have to look at your records. Why would Lavender do that?"

"How am I supposed to know? Anyway—"

"Harry, get off the phone and in here, I'm waiting." Ron heard Ginny's voice in the background. He hurriedly hung up, shuddering to himself. _Ugh. Did NOT want to hear that._

A/N: AHH, a nice long chapter! This didn't take any writer's block at all actually! It was pretty fun! Sorry for the delay, had a TON of schoolwork! Haha you all thought Lavender would spill the beans! But NOPE. That's coming in a later chapter, you'll just have to keep reading to find out! But what is Lavender up to now? You'll have to keep reading to find out, too! So how bout you review this to keep me going? It's much appreciated

LOVE YOU ALL TO DEATH!

XOXO,

Sparkshine


	13. Month 5:Summer DreamsTorn at the Seems

Month 5: Summer Dreams…Torn at the Seems

"And we shouldn't be seeing rain for the next five days!" The weatherman was saying as Ron clicked off the television and took a gulp of pumpkin juice. Hermione wasn't home yet and he was taking the time to just kick back and relax. Hermione had been keeping him up all day and all night. If he slept during the day, he got yelled at for being lazy and neglecting her, his job, and his chores. If he slept during the night, he got woken up by vomiting, crying, or water being gulped down in ungodly amounts. These moments when he was alone and relaxed were as rare as they were precious.

Ron groaned as his mobile phone, which Hermione insisted he carry ever since she announced the pregnancy, rang shrilly. He contemplated not answering, except that the last time he had gone through with that plan he'd almost got locked out of the house.

"_WHAT IF I HAD BEEN GOING INTO LABOR AND YOU DIDN'T ANSWER THE PHONE?"_

"_But Hermione, you're two months pregnant, I knew you weren't going into labo—"_

"_BUT WHAT IF?"_

_She hadn't been going into labor, she was barely even pregnant then! _He thought back to that awful day as he clicked the green button. It had taken about two weeks to learn how the damn thing worked. "Hi sweetie."

"Hi, Ron. Where are you?"

"Home."

"Doing what?"

"Um…I don't know, should I be doing anything?"

"RON! You were supposed to finish filling out those St. Mungo's papers, remember? What if I go into labor and they say—"

"Hermione! STOP stressing about you going into labor just yet, alright? That's four months away, so what if I decide I'd like to relax for one night?"

"Uchhh, fine, Ron."

"Where are you?"

"I'm just walking down the street. When I ring the doorbell do you think you could open it? I've got a bunch of heavy bags."

"Sure, honey. See you soon." He hung up and rested his head on the pillow, trying to enjoy the last few minutes of unperturbed silence before—

_CRASH!_

"SHOOT!" Hermione let out a string of curse words from outside the door. Run rushed to the door, yanking it open to find Hermione smack on her rear end, surrounded by broken glass. She was biting her lip in pain and looking around, trying to figure out how to get around the shattered bits.

"I thought I was the clumsy one in this family." Ron joked, looking down at her.

She glared balefully up at him with big brown eyes. "Haha, very funny Ronald. Help me up you useless git!"

Crunching over the glass with his shoes, he bent down. "What happened exactly?"

"I tripped over that damn stair!" She exclaimed. "And this was a vase I got for Helen in the office…what am I going to do?"

"Get another vase?" Ron suggested. "Now come on." He placed one arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders. With a great heave he lifted her into his arms. He knew she had always felt secure in that position, and usually he liked the feeling of holding her close to him in that way, but she was getting so heavy it almost hurt. Her belly reached to his upper chest. He let out an unintentional grunt.

"What is it? Am I too heavy?" She asked immediately.

"No, no it's fine." Trying to position her more securely and comfortably, he shifted his arms and tried opening the front screen door. Moving among the glass bits, he maneuvered his way past the minefield. But as he stepped towards the house while holding Hermione _and _trying to hold the door open, Hermione's head was knocked into a brick. For the second time that evening, she let out a stream of foul language.

"I also thought I was the dirty-talker around here."

"SHUT UP, RON!" She yelled. "Put me down this instant!"

Caught between obeying her orders and holding her closer, Ron took a few seconds too long to answer and received a blow to the chest. Hermione obviously thought that would make him let go, but she was wrong. He had barely even felt it. He wasn't doubting Hermione's strength, she could hit him hard when she wanted to, but he had gone through Auror training and was practically immune to weak punches.

He wasn't disobeying her because he wanted to start fights. Well, maybe he should change that. He had never told her this because she would've had a fit, but he found her _incredibly _sexy when she was mad at him. Which, come to think of it, was quite often. But he found it adorable how her face flushed and her chest heaved.

"Ronald Weasley you let me go or I will not make dinner!"

_Ouch. _"But Hermione, aren't you supposed to eat well for the baby?" He found an easy way around her threat. She reevaluated.

"Fine then. Let me go this instant or no sex all week." She knew exactly where to hit him hardest. He let her legs fall to the ground. She shook herself off, not looking at her husband. Gathering up the remaining bags, she made her way into the house.

_No sex all week? _He may not be overjoyed with her larger state, but still…that was a low blow. He followed her inside.

"So…how was your day?" He asked rather awkwardly as she assembled the components for beef stew.

"It was fine, I guess. Yours?" She asked, still not making eye contact.

"It was actually great. But Hermione, I need to talk to you about something."

"Ok. Talk." She replied, chopping up the meat.

"No, not right now, I need your attention. Take a break from cooking."

"I never thought I'd live to see the day those words left your mouth. Fine."

He led her to the couch and sat her down next to him.

"You're scaring me. What is it?"

"Hermione, I need you to relax a bit more, ok? You know I understand. You have a tough job with a bunch of old-fashioned elderly men, you're carrying a child and you have to deal with your slob of a husband." She cracked a small smile and he continued. "But you're not the only one under stress, okay? I'm going to be a father! You think that's set in yet? You barely tell me anything about your St. Mungo's visits, you rarely let me come with you to them, and then you yell at me every day! You know how much sleep I've gotten this week? Like five hours! I'm literally exhausted, Hermione! Please, I'd really like it if you could just calm down a little."

He hadn't looked at her through his entire monologue. He'd been too afraid of her expression. But when Hermione didn't respond, he looked up. She was laying back against the cushions, her eyes glistening with tears.

_Oh no. _"Hermione, see this is what I was talking ab—"

"No, no it's not that Ron. I'm just—" she hiccupped. "So, so sorry. I've been making everything about me, haven't I? I haven't given a thought to all of your problems. I'm sorry." She leaned against his shoulder and felt a jolt of relief when his arms encased her. She snuggled into the warmth of his large body, curling up and resting her head on his chest. He stroked her hair, kissing her head.

"I 'm so sorry." She repeated, even though her voice was muffled.

"You're forgiven." He kissed her shoulder, making his way up to her neck. She struggled slightly.

"Ron, if you're trying to do anything, I said no."

He pretended not to hear her, pulling her on top of him as he rolled onto his back. He kissed her deeply. Her struggles were fruitless, and she gave in. His hands crept up her shirt, moving quickly and awkwardly over the bulge in her midsection. He cupped her breasts in his large hands. Her usually slightly-smaller-than-perhaps-what-could've-been breasts were filling out with this pregnancy, and if he was honest this was the only change he liked. He toyed a bit with them before moving one hand down the other side of her body.

She finally pulled away. "I said no sex right now, Ron."

"But this strictly speaking is not sex. It's intimacy."

"Technicalities."

"Maybe so, but I don't care."

She rolled her eyes. "Right, of course. When have you ever cared about others wishes?"

"Hey! I most definitely have before. Hermione, come on, it's been a long day…" His hands slid around her expanding waist.

"No." She stood up. "I'm not hungry anymore. If you want food then make it yourself. You know Ron, I'm perfectly willing to comply with your wishes regarding sensitivity and caring, but I'm not going to bother if you never return the favor!" Her voice was rising in pitch. "I just won't even try! Then you can see how it feels to have your wants and needs pushed to the side!"

"Oh, right, your wants and needs have gone totally unfulfilled this past month!" He stood up, his voice rising as well. "Have you forgotten who went out to buy you orange juice at two in the morning four nights ago, because you had a craving? Or who gets woken up every damn night? Or who works extra hours to bring home more money to support a family?"

He had crossed a line and they both knew it.

"Screw it Ron. Sleep by yourself tonight. Get a good night's sleep. ENJOY yourself. I won't bother you anymore." She stormed out of the room. He heard her clomping down to the basement, where there was only a small futon.

Ron spent the rest of the evening trying to assemble a beef stew. He failed miserably, and the stew looked more like a wet sock in mud. He instead shoved some bread and butter into his mouth before going to bed.

_Finally. An undisturbed evening. _He wondered what Hermione was doing downstairs but stopped himself. _Relax, tonight you get to relax. _

After about an hour of tossing and turning, the guilt finally set in. Hermione was probably freezing her bum off down there. Grabbing the duvet, he tiptoed downstairs to the basement. Hermione was curled up on the bed/couch, with no pillows or blankets. She was snoring very slightly.

Slipping his jacket off, he balled it up and laid it under Hermione's head before covering her with the blanket. He gave her a light kiss on the cheek before tiptoeing back up to bed, where he spent a relaxed night albeit with no source of warmth.

Two weeks later, two things had fluctuated upward: the temperature, which was now at a record-setting eighty five degrees, and Hermione's pant size. Her belly was growing quickly.

"Eet must be a boy." Fleur had pronounced. "If eet iz zat big, eet has to be a boy."

Ron had planned a surprise for Hermione and for once it had gone perfectly. He'd booked them rooms at the Grand Dolphin Resort. They had arrived two days previously and immediately hit the beach. Located in the south of Spain, the weather was even hotter, but the breezes, the sands, and coolers kept them comfortable. They had spent the first day swimming, kissing, and eating, and the second day swimming, eating, kissing, and trying to learn how to surf. Ron's athletic training allowed him to easily grasp it, but Hermione had a harder time, especially with the unbalanced weight on her torso. Falling off the board however, did let Ron catch her, which usually led them right back to kissing. They were staying at the resort for three weeks, but after two days Ron had decided to splurge and instead of staying in a hotel, rented out a beach house.

The beach house was the most gorgeous place Hermione had ever been. The floors were either light wood or white carpet. The walls were painted green and blue, and seashells and paintings of the beach lined the walls.

Hermione, now over halfway through her pregnancy, was starting to feel the achiness. She and Ron were sitting in the living room of the beach house, her in only a pale cotton dress and him in just shorts. They were sweating like crazy.

"Oh, damn you Ron. You just had to get me pregnant in the middle of summer."

"Hey! There is _no _way you can blame that on me!"

"I know…I'm sorry…I just—OH MY GOD!"

"What? What is it?" Ron demanded.

She looked excited. "I felt it! I felt the baby kick!"

"What?" Ron leapt to her side.

"It's kicking!" She gave a giddy squeal.

"Can I feel it?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded.

Ron splayed his fingers across her belly. "Nothing's happening."

"Just wait a moment." As the words left her mouth, Ron gasped as he felt a tiny foot push against its area of confinement.

"Feel it?"

Ron nodded."Oh my gosh, Hermione…this is amazing!"

"Ron are you crying?"

"No…no…" He tried to sniff it back. "Of course not."

She smiled happily. She knew that he was showing a rare sign of weepy emotion and it overjoyed her.

"Does it hurt?" Ron asked.

"Not particularly. A little bit, I guess, but not too much."

"Ok good, you tell me if it ever hurts okay?"

"So you can do what?"

"I don't know…help?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You are so adorably clueless sometimes, Ron."

He gave a goofy smile.

A few days passed after the first kick. They had spent those days doing beach-y things, spending the entire day in the sand and water sometimes.

Hermione had gotten used to her larger size slightly. It still felt rather awkward at points, but she reminded herself, _I'm carrying a baby…and that's beautiful._

She had also been surprisingly happy when the _no sex _ban had been lifted, although they hadn't had much action in the past two weeks. _Maybe it's about time…_

"My hormones are going crazy right now Ron."

She rolled over so she was straddling Ron. He looked up at her. Her hair was wildly curly and her lips were in a mischievous smile. He rarely saw her this way, and usually he took advantage of it. She leaned into him, kissing him. He could deal with this. He kissed her back but refrained from pulling her closer.

She didn't notice what he was omitting, and kept getting more intense. She ripped her dress off, running her hands down Ron's chest. When she started struggling with his pants zipper however, he broke away suddenly, scooting down the couch.

"What? What is it?" She asked, shocked. She folded her arms over her chest, her bare belly prominent.

"Nothing, nothing, it's just…" His face turned crimson.

"Just _what?" _She asked. "You're usually the one trying to initiate these sorts of things."

"It's just…you're getting really….big."

Hermione recoiled as if he had slapped her. Slipping her dress back on, she turned to him with tear filled eyes. "Fine then. I'll cover up if you don't want to see your _pregnant_ wife. Ron, I'm carrying your baby!" She started to sob.

"No, Hermione listen," Ron started, standing up and moved towards her with his arms out. She didn't let him finish though.

"Ron I can't believe you'd say something like that!" She yelled, her voice breaking. "I'm PREGNANT, for Merlin's sake! I'm carrying your damn child! And now you're going against everything you said a month ago by saying I'm fat! Ron I'm not fat I'm PREGNANT!"

"I know that, but sex just isn't the same when you're so big!" Ron had to dodge suddenly after these words when a porcelain teacup came soaring towards his head. "What the hell was that?" He yelled.

"I'M OUT OF HERE, RON!" Hermione screamed hysterically. "IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO LOOKAT ME THEN YOU WON'T HAVE TO!" She hurled a plate at him, and this time he wasn't so lucky. It smashed into his right ear.

"ENJOY THE REST OF THIS VACATION, YOU SELFISH BASTERD! Maybe you'll find some skinny woman to hook up with while I'm gone, because I'm not coming back! GOODYBE." And with that, she Disapparated.

A/N: A little more dramatic, a little steamier, a little more language. If you don't like, don't read. Well there's a little bit of a cliffhanger there at the end! What do y'all think? Problem issss….I'm going to need 20 more reviews for you to find out! I'm terribly sorry, but with a huge workload it's getting a little hard to write but I know if you reach this number I'll find it in me to make time and write the next chapter! I think this chapter was a bit longer than the others, did you guys like that or do you like the shorter ones? Let me know!

XOXO, Love always,

Sparkshine


	14. Month 5 Continued

Month 5 Continued

In Hermione's hysteria, she wasn't quite sure where she had Disapparated to. All she knew, through all the tears, was that she needed to get somewhere away from Ron. When the nausea-inducing tunnel sensation lifted, she opened her eyes, wiping the blurriness away with her hand. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was.

"Mrs. Weasley?"

Hermione whirled around, almost losing her balance. Even after several years under that title, she never really felt comfortable in it. Mrs. Weasley was Ron's mom, not her.

"What are you doing here?" The man questioned. Hermione squinted, trying to make out the finer features of the dark silhouette in front of her. Hermione didn't answer, and instead focused on clearing her eyesight to locate where she was. Once her sight was clear, it became obvious. She was in London, right outside the visitors' entrance to the Ministry.

"I work here." She replied, with a large amount of _Duh _in her voice. She was speaking to Cormac McLaggen, tall and sharp in front of her.

"Well I know that, but the Ministry is closed at this hour. And you just Apparated here."

"Good observation." She said sarcastically before turning around and stomping down the street. She knew a small café down the road, a place she could get out of the humid darkness. There were beads of sweat already rolling down her forehead. It was obvious it would rain any hour. The air was thick with moisture and the night was boiling.

"Hey, wait!" Cormac ran after her. She didn't look back.

"Why are you ignoring me?" He asked, grabbing her arm.

She spun around to face him, trying to push his arm off. "Because you have caused nothing but trouble for my family! Why would I want to talk to you? Go away, Cormac, leave me alone!"

She ran as fast as she could down the street. Before stepping into the Muggle café, she looked back. He was standing exactly where she had left him. Good.

The café was "air-conditioned", a genius Muggle invention that instantly cooled her boiling skin. She ordered a coffee and sat down at a table; resting her head on her hand and finally realizing what had just happened. Tears sprang to her eyes.

_How could Ron say that? I thought he said I was beautiful no matter what! He thinks pregnant is ugly?_ Her hand instinctively rested on her belly, and tears flowed more quickly when she felt the baby give a light kick. _He probably never wanted this baby. If he was lying to me about what he thought of my body for the past two months, he was probably lying about everything. _

"Miss, are you okay?"

Hermione looked up. A young woman who looked around her age was standing in front of her table, looking concerned. Normally, Hermione would just nod and wave her on, but she had to get these damn emotions out. She shook her head No.

"Would you mind if I sat down?"

Hermione nodded.

"What's your name?" The lady asked.

"Um..Hermione."

"Wow! What a cool name!"

"Really?" Hermione giggled in spite of herself. "I don't get that often! What's your name?"

"My name is Evie. Evie Turner. But what's wrong? I can't stand to see someone so upset."

Hermione sniffled. "My husband is an inconsiderate, insensitive, and selfish moron."

Evie bit her lip. "Oh, that's not good." Her eyes fell to Hermione's stomach. "Are you expecting?"

Hermione nodded. "Five months, now. But I just don't know what's going on…"

"What do you mean?"

"My husband said he didn't want to be…er…" Hermione stopped awkwardly. "_intimate _with me in this state."

Evie's mouth fell open. "He didn't!"

Hermione nodded. It felt _so good _to tell someone what she was feeling, someone other than Ron's sister, or Ron's friend, or her friend who was also friends with Ron, or Ron's brother, or Ron's parents. Come to think of it, most of the people in her life she counted as friends were very close with Ron. She had very little friends outside that circle.

Taking a closer look at Evie, Hermione's first thought was that she belonged in one of those insipid fashion magazines. Her hair was lighter than Hermione's, it was a perfect shade of golden brown. It was voluminous, but not puffy, and even in this intense humidity in managed to stay smooth and shiny. Her eyes were hazel, her eyebrows perfectly done, her nose a tiny ski-slope, and her lips heart-shaped.

Evie was still contemplating the horrors of Hermione's situation. "If my husband ever did that….I'd throw something at him!"

Hermione let out a snort of laughter, "That's what I did!"

"Well good for you then!" Evie gave her a dazzling smile. "But what are you going to do now?"

Hermione tried but failed in keeping her tears back. "I don't know! Ron, that's my husband, is probably back at home by now…but I can't see him again after that." She sniffled.

Evie pouted. "Yeah, I get that totally. Do you need a place to stay tonight?" She offered suddenly.

Hermione looked at her cautiously. She seemed nice enough…but she'd read the Muggle news enough to know that murders often happened this way.

"Do you live alone?"

Evie shook her head. "No, I live with my husband and one-year old daughter."

"Well…I'm not sure…"

"Here, how about I go outside for a minute and call my husband, see if he's okay with it. You seem really nice and it's obvious you shouldn't handle yourself alone at the moment. Be right back." She took out her phone and exited the café.

Hermione sat in the cool room for a minute, her head on her hands again. She jumped when a figure sat down opposite her. "Evie, that was—"

But it wasn't Evie. It was Cormac.

Hermione practically snarled, "What are you _doing _here?"

"Well, you seemed upset."

"So you followed me?"

"Not followed…more like…er…"

Hermione snorted. "Get out of here."

"No, _Hermione." _Hermione registered the use of her first name now. "I thought I would offer you a place to stay tonight."

Hermione's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "WHAT?"

"Well, you're not often wandering around without Weasley…something happen?"

"No, nothing happened." She lied.

He just raised his eyebrows.

"Stop that!" Hermione snapped at him. "Stop acting like you care! I don't know why you hate Ron so much but leave me out of it!" She tried to stand up but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back down. Hermione's eyes widened. He was incredibly strong.

Still holding her hand above the table, he started to say something but was cut off by someone else.

"Hermione? Um, hi…Ron, was it?"

Hermione looked up. Evie stood in front of the table, her eyes questioning.

With a good amount of effort, Hermione yanked her hand out of Cormac's and stood up. "No, this isn't Ron. What's going on?"

"My husband said it's fine, you can stay in the guest room."

Hermione let a huge smile break out on her face. "Great!" She wiped the last tears from her puffy eyes. She glared down at Cormac. "Don't ever speak to me again."

Evie's eyes were darting between Hermione and Cormac. She looked like she wanted to say something but thought twice, instead saying "Right, come on, we should get going."

Hermione nodded and followed her out the door.

"Who was that guy?" Evie asked as they made their way down the sticky street. She'd told Hermione that her house was only a few blocks away.

"Uh…husband's coworker, and ex-boyfriend."

"And he was holding your hand why…?"

"Because he's a rude, arrogant, jealous, selfish prat!" She ranted, her face growing red.

"All right, all right, calm down. Don't worry about him. But what do you think you're going to do about your husband? Are you two going to get over this?"

Hermione sighed. "Probably. You should've seen our fights when we were in school together. But we always get over them. I still…I still can't believe he said that though…" She started to tear up again, looking away. "I'm r-really sorry for acting like this, I'm really not this weepy all the time."

Evie grabbed her arm. "Don't worry about it, sweetie. We'll fix this."

Meanwhile, Ron had Apparated back home. _Hermione came here obviously…where else would she go? She doesn't have many friends…_

"Hermione!" He called upstairs. He'd packed up the beach house in a matter of minutes, paid, and gotten out. Placing the bags down, he proceeded to climb the staircase.

"Hermione, c'mon, I know you're up there." He made his way to the bedroom, expecting to see her on the bed. She wasn't. _She's just trying to not be too obvious._

But she wasn't anywhere else in the room, or on that floor, or in the basement, or the kitchen, or even her office. _Where is she? _He was starting to panic a little, until he remembered Harry and Ginny. _That's where she always goes._

He Apparated there quickly, knocking on the door. Ginny answered wearing only a tiny sundress.

"That's what you wear?" Was the first thing Ron said, a little shocked.

She just rolled her eyes. "Why not? Harry's the only one here and he's seen me in much less."

Ron blushed crimson but quickly remembered his purpose. "Hey, can I see Hermione now? I really have to talk to her."

"What are you talking about, Ronald?"

"She's—she's not here?"

"Did you lose her?"

"No, what? No, I didn't _lose _her, I—"

"What did you say?" She asked knowingly, opening the door to let him inside. He came in, shutting the door behind him.

"I didn't say anything that b—"

"Oh, right, if _you _don't think it's bad, that means it's not! Ron seriously what did you say?"

"I said she didn't look that great…you know, cuz she's pregnant."

Ron's words were met with a stinging slap to his face, courtesy of Ginny. "Ron you horrible senseless prat! No wonder you can't find her!"

Harry appeared out of nowhere. "Whoa, what's going on?"

"Ron told Hermione he doesn't like the way she looks pregnant." Ginny informed him before Ron could jump in.

"Oh man, Ron, seriously?"

"Harry, c'mon, you can't go off on this to!"

"Fine, I'll let Ginny be the mad one but I—"

"Just know if you ever say that to me," Ginny interrupted, "I'd be out of here before you could say Quidditch. Now, where did Hermione go?" Ginny turned back to Ron.

"You ask me like I know." Ron said sourly.

"Right, right…where else have you checked?"

"Wait, what's going on?" Harry interjected. "Where's Hermione?"

"That seems to be the question of the day." Ginny replied. "She ran off."

Ron was hitting his head. "You know what? I'll look for her in the morning; she'll probably come back anyway. She never stays away long." He ignored Ginny's dirty look. "I'll see you guys later." He Disapparated.

The next morning, Hermione and Evie were sitting on the couch in her house. It was even bigger than Hermione and Ron's, but Evie, it turned out, was a model just like Hermione had thought. Their house was giant, with a pool in the backyard and decorative fountains.

The two young women were laughing over a story Evie was telling, something about the elephant at the zoo and a feather boa. They were eating little crackers with cheese.

"You know, this is really nice Evie. I can't remember the last time I just…hung out."

"No problem! I know it sounds weird, but you'd think I'd have more of a…life, you know, with the job I have. But I don't. I go out to work parties and I wear fancy clothes for photoshoots, and then I come back home, buy some ice cream, and just relax."

"Wow. Oh, do you know what time it is?"

Evie checked her watch. "About…9 AM?"

"Oh shoot."

"What? What is it?"

"I…I probably should go."

"What? Why?"

"I don't want my family to worry about me."

Evie nodded understandingly. "I get that. Well…um…it was nice meeting you!"

Hermione hugged her. "Thank you so much. For everything. For the food, and the bed, and just listening to all my problems. I really cannot thank you enough."

"It's really no problem at all! You should come over again sometime! How about if you two feel up to it, bring Ron over here for dinner next Wednesday!"

"Really? Great! I'll be sure to come!" She hugged her again, and had to pause. She'd been about to Disapparate, but had to remember to walk out the front door instead.

She wanted to take the longest possible route back to the house. She both walked and took the Underground. When she got home she stopped outside the door. Ron was in there, waiting for her. And he was going to pay some more for what he had said. But all she really wanted was for him to take her in his arms and tell her she was beautiful, but would it be the same if he didn't mean any of it?

A/N: Hope you liked! I've been terribly sick the past week and was unable to write, and for that I am SOOOOOOO sorry! Ok, so I BARELY got the 20 reviews I asked for, so this chapter I'll make it 15. 15 reviews before next chapter? I think you guys can do it

XOXO, Love always,

Sparkshine


	15. Month 6: Jealous Minds Think Alike

A/N: Oh. My. God. I asked for 15 reviews, and what do I get? OVER 30. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST PEOPLE EVER! I would also like to give a special shoutout to SoulWriter 0012. Your last review absolutely made my day So thank you so much! And thank you everyone else too! Here is a newwww chapter for you! But first, I'd like to address something: RON AND HERMIONE WILL NEVER, NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVERRR permanently break up in any of my stories. They might come close with their fights but I'm the biggest Ronmione fan in the world, I would never split them up. So people can stop freaking out on me saying THEY CAN'T BREAK UP! Because, um, they haven't. So I'm done with my little rant, enjoy the chappie

Jealous Minds Think Alike

Hermione trembled a little. She knew Ron was inside; the lights were on. _Come on Hermione…Ron didn't fall in love with a timid little sheep. He fell in love with a bossy confident know-it-all._

Before she had another moment to doubt herself she walked in the door. She didn't see anyone in the front hallway. _He's not psychic, Hermione. He didn't know you were outside. _She set down her purse and walked down the hallway, trying to look confident. Ron was sprawled on the couch, his mouth hanging open, snoring. An empty bottle of firewhisky lay on the floor by his feet, which were hanging off the edge of the couch due to his size.

Hermione struggled internally for a few moments. _It's supposed to show strength by being the first to apologize…but I'm always apologizing! I want him to do it first for once!_

Hermione nudged Ron over a bit before sitting down by his side. He looked so innocent like that, and she couldn't help feel a rush of nostalgia for when they were younger, when they were both naïve. She put a hand on his shoulder and gently shook him. He awoke slowly, his eyelids sticky with sleep.

"Hermione?" He mumbled.

"Would it be anyone else?" She mumbled, echoing his words from over a month ago.

He pushed himself up with his hands and made a move to hug her, but she pulled away. He sighed. "Right. Hermione, I was a prat—no, I was more than that. I shouldn't have said that."

Hermione struggled to keep tears from pricking her eyes. "But Ron, why can't you see that I don't need an apology? It doesn't matter if you say that. You're the kind of person who says things honest, and sometimes too honestly. Even if you say you shouldn't have said that you can't fool me by saying you didn't mean it." Her voice was growing thick. She bit her lip.

"But I—I don't—"

"Yes, you do Ron!" Hermione cut in. "You did mean it!"

"And what if I got so worried and so desperate to see you home safe again that it completely altered what I thought?" Ron tried.

"You spend the night drinking, Ron." She gestured to the firewhisky. "You can't fool me."

He shook his head; he looked like he wanted to burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" She demanded. She didn't find anything amusing about the present situation.

"It's just that _this _is the Hermione I fell in love with. The Hermione that I can't fool with anything because she knows me too well. Hermione, we know everything about each other."

"No we don't. What do I absolutely need to have in my office at work at all times?"

"Work, a picture of the family on your desk, and a bottle of butterbeer." Ron answered in a heartbeat.

Hermione was taken aback. How did he know that? "That's just basic recall." She scoffed, not really believing her own words.

"No, Hermione it's really not."

"She shoved his arm lightly. "But this isn't what the problem is! The problem is you lied about what you thought and then told me quite rudely your true opinion!"

"Wait." Ron interjected. "Are you mad that I lied at first, or about what I said?"

Hermione was temporarily at a loss for words. _What am I mad about? _"Both, Ron, both! You shouldn't have said both! And it's not really that you said it, it's that you thought it in the first place! Most women say that their husbands think they're beautiful when they're expecting, and you tell me I'm not attractive anymore!" As hard as she tried, she couldn't keep a few tears spilling onto her cheeks. She tried to wipe them away before Ron could see, but from the way he looked at her with pity, she knew he noticed.

He ignored her struggles as he pulled her to his chest and wiped away her tears with the back of his hand. "What if I wasn't making up what I said before? About being so worried that it changed my opinion?"

"But you were!"

"But what if I wasn't?"

She sniffled, still trying to pull herself out of his iron grip and failing miserably. She didn't have a response to him anymore; she really didn't know what to say. She just couldn't forgive him, and she had a hard time believing his ridiculous excuses. He would twist anything she said.

"What did you do while I was gone?" She asked him, not meeting his eyes.

"I went to Harry and Ginny's house. I thought you might be there. When you weren't I came back here, because I knew this was the place you'd come to when you came to your senses. See, I do know something about you!"

"That's the only place you looked?"

His teasing expression was wiped off his face in a matter of seconds. "Well, no, I…I didn't know anywhere else you might've been…why? Where were you?"

"Well it wasn't somewhere you would've found me at." She admitted reluctantly.

"_Where were you?" _He asked, his voice low and his fist clenched on her arm. She tried again to yank herself out of his grip; when she succeeded there were white finger marks on her arm.

"I was at a friend's house." Was all she elected to tell him.

"Was it a bloke?"

"Maybe and maybe not." She smirked as she sauntered to the kitchen, her confidence returning. She knew her last comment was unnecessary, but she also knew it would drive him crazy with jealousy, which was all she needed right now. In the dining room mirror she saw him on the couch, his face frozen, trying to process that she might have been with someone else the night before. She did feel a little bad, she knew all too well how he felt about things like that.

She waved her wand in a few directions, summoning ingredients for an omelet. She was starving, despite having eaten just two hours previously. She didn't hear Ron come up behind her until she felt him spin her around and press her to the cabinet.

"Hermione, please tell me you were not with some other bloke last night." She heard the traces of pain in his voice.

"Why should I? Should I say something that I might not mean?" _Am I going too far with this? _She thought to herself. The blue burning in her husband's eyes answered her question. She sighed, relaxing her tense muscles. "No, Ron, I wasn't."

This time, she let herself be pulled into his arms as they wrapped around her. She rested her head on his chest as his hands gently rubbed her back. She could sense his relief.

"Hermione, I'm sorry." She heard his thick voice mutter in her ear. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Do you still believe what you said?" She listened to the beat of his heart through his shirt.

"No, I don't. I think you're the most beautiful person on this world. You're the only girl I've ever loved and the only one I will _ever _love. And I love that you're carrying our child." One of his hands moved down to touch her belly. To his delight, he felt a slight movement there.

Hermione smiled. That was all she needed to hear.

"I hate when you drag me places!" Ron was yelling upstairs.

"I'm not _dragging _you, I'm just telling you that you need to get ready so we can leave!"

"That's the same thing!" Ron called back. Hermione was bringing him to her friend Evie's for dinner that night, and apparently he had to dress nice.

"_She's a model, she and her house are absolutely lovely and I want us to look nice!" Hermione had said._

Ron hastily buttoned up the blue shirt Hermione had ordered him to wear. He was tugging at the collar uncomfortably when he heard Hermione come in behind him.

"Stop that!" She fussed, fixing his tie from the back. It became looser and much more wearable in an instant.

"Thanks so much Hermi…." His voice trailed off.

"What?" She asked shrewdly.

"You look amazing." Was all he could really say. And he meant it. Her deep blue dress didn't make her baby bump (now growing rapidly) stand out, but it didn't hide it. But he didn't care about that anymore. It didn't detract from her appearance it all, because he now saw the glow it gave her, and the way it filled her out. He pulled her close and kissed her, surprising Hermione. Holding her around the waist, they Disapparated, Hermione guiding them to the right London streetcorner.

"Wow." Ron said, looking up at all the beautiful houses surrounding them.

Hermione pulled him by the hand. "Come on, it's this one." She led him to Evie's house. As they walked up the staircase, the door was flung open by Evie.

"Hermione!" She squealed, rushing as fast as she could in her six-inch high shoes before embracing Hermione as tightly as she could wearing the paper-thin thigh-dusting halter dress.

"Hi Evie!"

Ron seemed to have forgotten his earlier compliment to his wife by the way he stared at Evie as she shook his hand. Hermione scowled and shoved him inside.

The dinner went smoothly, Hermione keeping her wand pressed against her thigh in case Ron make any stupid comment that would reveal that they were, in fact, magical. She was happy with the conversation, the food, and everything else, except perhaps one thing. Ron couldn't keep his eyes off Evie the entire night. Every time he laughed, smiled, or snuck a glance at her when she wasn't looking made Hermione's heart tighten. She didn't look a thing like Evie. Evie's hair was perfectly silky straight, just reaching her chest, which inconveniently was threatening to become its own person. Her face was perfectly proportioned and there wasn't a single thing wrong with her.

As Ron and Hermione walked up the steps to their own house late that night, Hermione broke the silence. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

He still looked dumbstruck. "That is a bit of an understatement."

Hermione let a small sigh escape her lips, but Ron didn't hear her. She tried her hardest to keep the huffiness out of her voice. "Yes, well, I'm sure she appreciated your frequent ogling."

"What?" Ron snapped out of his daze as they closed the door and headed to the bedroom.

"Oh don't pretend!" She tried her best to keep her voice light and teasing, but anger was boiling inside her. "You couldn't keep her eyes off her all night! She _is _married, you know. That's who the bloke sitting next to her was."

"Wha—? I knew that! She's just…she was something." Ron stammered.

Throwing her purse on the bed, Hermione started undressing, her back turned to Ron. She really didn't want to tear up again, what was wrong with her? Maybe this was her karmic payback for intentionally lying to make Ron jealous the week before. Maybe that was her punishment for befriending a model.

"But—" Ron started, making Hermione jump by winding his cold hands around her bare waist and squeezing lightly. "I prefer brunettes." He kissed Hermione on the cheek, and she blushed. The tears from moments before dried up like plants in the desert. She turned around, her baby bump creating a small distance between their bodies as she kissed him.

"Why do we always make each other upset?" Hermione accidentally wondered aloud.

"What are you talking about? I'm quite happy at the moment." Ron said, running his hands up and down her body.

"I mean, I tried to make you jealous last week, and you're always making me jealous…why do we do that? Why can't we just be…normal?"

"Because if we were normal, we wouldn't be us."

A/N: Sorry for the shortness! I was going to write more but I decided a faster upload would be better, so the next chapter will be extra long, pinky swear! Thank you for the MASSIVE amount of votes last chapter, I'd love it for you guys to keep it up! You make me the happiest writer ever so THANK YOU!

XOXO, Love always,

Sparkshine


	16. Month 7: Complications

Month 7: Complications

"Ron…there's only two months left, and I think I need to ask you something."

The couple was sitting on the couch, Hermione curled up in his lap while he played with her hair. Ron was a little nervous by the way she asked that.

"Ok, what is it?"

"I think it's about time to lay out some possible names for the baby."

"But we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet!"

"So we'll pick out some names for either gender. Are you ready?"

"Er—sure."

"Come here." She led him by the hand to the dining room table, where they sat down on opposite sides. Hermione waved her wand and two pieces of parchment appeared in front of them.

"Write down the names you like for both a boy and a girl. Take your time, okay? We don't need to rush this at all."

The two sat in silence for a while, once in a while scratching something down. They didn't make eye contact. Hermione's mind was in turmoil; what if Ron insisted on an absolutely ridiculous name? It'd be a lot like him to do that.

45 minutes later, Ron was done. Not wanting to take too much time after that, Hermione scribbled down two last names and then raised her head.

"Okay, let's exchange the papers."

RON'S LIST

Boys:

Oliver

Thomas

Peter

Girls:

Laura

Isabella

Olivia

HERMIONE' S LIST

Boys:

Callum

Jacob

Cameron

Archie

Alexander

Oscar

Girls:

Tia

Summer

Scarlett

Millie

Eleanor

Daisy

Poppy

Madison

"Ron, how did it take you almost an hour to write a total of six names?" Hermione demanded.

"Because I actually put some thought into those! We are sure as hell not naming our child Oscar or Daisy!"

"Why not?" She shot back.

"Because those names are stupid!" Ron shouted.

"Ron, calm down!" Hermione said, a bit alarmed.

"Sorry…" he muttered. "I just want the child to have an…agreeable name."

"And what is wrong with Daisy? I like daisies! They remind me of summer."

"And I notice you put down that name as well. Summer." He said the name like he said "vomit."

"Those are very pretty names, Ronald!" She said angrily.

"Well what do you think of my names?" Ron asked, trying to steer her back on track.

Hermione had to force herself to admit that they weren't that bad. "I rather like Isabella…I would definitely consider that."

Relaxing, Ron admitted, "I do like Madison. And Cameron."

Hermione smiled. "I don't know…I still think I want one of the summery names. You know, since I've been pregnant all through summer."

It was September, now. The weather had cooled down, and a chilly breeze was blowing through the neighborhood. No one was exactly missing the sweltering heat of the past two months, and Hermione couldn't help fantasizing about September in a little over ten years, sending her little girl or boy off to Hogwarts. But this summer had been truly memorable. The fights, the make-ups, the pregnancy appointments…she wanted something to help her remember it. And her child's name seemed like the perfect fit.

"I don't want a summery name. I want a name the child will _like." _

Hermione could feel her face coloring. _I must look like a blowfish. _She thought grimly. "And why wouldn't the baby like a summer or flower name?"

"Because it's name would be _Daisy. _Might as well name it Baby's Breath or Carnation or Lavend…." He stopped at the last one, his voice trailing off awkwardly.

"What?" Hermione demanded. "What was that last one?"

"Nothing, I only said two." He said uncomfortably. He should've known better. Lying didn't work with Hermione.

"No, you said 'Lavender.' Is that what you want to name the baby, Ron? Lavender?" Her voice rose in pitch.

"No, no, Hermione…I was just brainstorming flowers!"

She sat very still, breathing heavily for a few moments. Finally she calmed down. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry."

She cracked a small smile. "Ok, back on track." Ron let out an internal sigh. Crisis averted.

"Hermione, please, I really want the baby's name to be something that I like as much as you do. I also think it's going to be a boy."

"Me too…I think we should concentrate on boys names."

No less than three hours later, they had decided. If a boy, the baby's name would be Cameron William Weasley. The couple wasn't able to decide on a girl's name, so they left that on the table for the time being and focused on dinner.

"Ron, can you please cook tonight?" She pleaded, lying on the couch. "I don't feel so good."

"Sure, love." He kissed her forehead. Hermione closed her eyes. _Just resting, not sleeping…._

"Hermione."

"Wh-huh?" Hermione jerked awake.

"You fell asleep again." Ron chuckled. "Dinner is ready."

She groaned, lying back down and burying her face in the pillow. "Go away, Ron."

He swiftly scooped her up. She wondered how he did it anymore; she was so huge. "You have to eat, Hermione. For the baby and for you. Come on, I made turkey sandwiches."

Her eyes drooped as he carried her for the few long strides to the dinner table. He tried his best to place her in her chair without dropping her on the table. She looked so tired, so weak. He wasn't used to seeing her like this. _Just exhausted, that's all. _He reassured himself. _There's nothing wrong with her._

They ate the meal in silence, Hermione taking only a few bites before her face nearly fell right on the plate.

"Hermione I think you need to go to bed now." He advised, getting up to help her.

"Yeah…yeah…" She mumbled sleepily. She waved him away. "I'm fine, you moron. I can walk upstairs."

He sat back down as she stumbled toward the stairs. Three seconds later he heard a big crash and heard Hermione say "Don't worry, I'm fine."

A little worried, he finished dinner quickly and hurried upstairs. The lights were on in the bedroom but Hermione was passed out on the bed, still in her pale blue house dress. It was obvious she had literally stumbled into the room, fallen on the bed, and gone to sleep. Ron smiled. There was something amusing about her when she acted just as lazily as he did.

He changed into his night clothes before crawling onto the bed beside her. He felt the fabric of her dress. It was coarse and seemed wholly uncomfortable. Padding over to her dresser, he pulled out one of her night dresses, a pale pink lace one, and edged back onto the bed. Rolling his wife over, he carefully lifted her dress off. Before sliding the new one on, though, he lowered his head over her and kissed her bulging belly. "Good night baby."

He fell asleep fairly easily, but his dreams were nightmarish. Popping colors and screams, candles flickering eerily, blood splattered floors. He awoke with a jolt.

"Ron? Ron are you okay?" Hermione was shaking him.

"Yeah…yeah I'm fine…why?"

"You were yelling."

"I was?" He rubbed his head, as if that would erase the bad dreams.

"Yeah." She leaned against his shoulder. "You didn't wake me up, though. It's four in the morning now, but I've been up since two. I fell asleep early last night but wasn't able to stay asleep. So I've just been reading. Then you started yelling, something about me and…Seamus Finnigan?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Funny, that's not what I was dreaming about." He said, trying to remember Seamus.

"So what _were _you dreaming about?"

As hard as he racked his brains, Ron could not remember. "I forget…I dunno just a nightmare I guess."

"Are you feeling okay?"

"What's with the interview, Hermione? I'm fine!"

She was silent, and he knew he had hurt her feelings. She was only trying to help. "I'm sorry Hermione. But how are you feeling? You've been up for hours!"

She smiled. "It's okay. I'm okay, I guess. Just a little cramped." She indicated her shoulders. "Lots of stress. Your mum is bringing me to two St. Mungo's appointments a month now, and all this baby shower nonsense Ginny is planning…so I'm a little on edge right now."

He smiled impishly. "Roll over."

"What? Why?"

"You'll see." He rolled her over onto her belly. "Is that comfortable? You know, with the baby bump and everything?"

She giggled. "It's fine, Ron." Her voice was muffled by the pillow.

Ron crawled over to her, sitting by her side. "Ok, just relax."

He worked his hands over her tense shoulders. He could see what she meant; she had a lot of knots. She sighed in happiness as he massaged her back, working down her spine. With a mischievous look in his eyes, he squeezed her bum. In a very un-Hermione-ish act, she actually giggled. He patted her bum again before leaning over and kissing her hair.

She sprang up, pushing him back down to the bed and straddling his hips. Her wild, nighttime hair, not yet completely tamed into frizz-free tendrils, almost crackled with electricity. She leaned over him, kissing him softly. He gently placed his hands on her hips as they continued their loving.

The next morning, Hermione woke up before Ron. She tiptoed downstairs and hurriedly ate some bread and butter. She had a big assignment at work today, and she wanted to be fully prepared. When she arrived back at the bedroom, Ron was still fast asleep. She picked out her clothes and was just bending down to retrieve a dropped item when she heard a chortle behind her.

"I like when you do that."

Hermione whirled around, scowling. Ron backtracked quickly. "Kidding, Hermione, kidding!"

She rolled her eyes at her hopeless husband and finished dressing in silence. They Apparated together to the Ministry. Upon their arrival, they walked through the Atrium hand in hand. In the lift, they stood at the back together, Ron occasionally pinching her bum cheekily. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before getting off at her stop and promised to see him at lunch.

While standing at her receptionist's desk, she felt another hand on her hips, its fingers dangerously close to lower down. "Ron, I thought I said I would—"

But it wasn't Ron. Hermione hand instantly whipped around to slap McLaggen in the face, but he caught her hand just inches from him. Hermione looked wildly over to Liv, her receptionist, but she was gone. _Dammit!_

"Let me go, you filthy bastard! How dare you touch me?" She snarled, breaking free from his hands.

He smiled a smile that she supposed would be very attractive to other people. She knew the sly cheating man underneath and she wanted nothing more than to slap him silly, just to wipe that smug smile off his hideous face.

"Relax, Hermione. I just wanted to talk to you. Come with me." He grabbed her wrist. She yanked it free.

"Come. With. Me." The look in his eyes was almost terrifying. She grudgingly obeyed his command. _We're in the middle of the Ministry of Magic…he's not going to try anything._

In Hermione's private office, he backed her up against the wall, pressing her wrists by her sides. _This was a terrible mistake…why did I agree? I'm stronger than that! Oh God this is awful!_ Hermione prayed for a miracle, something to save her. But as his wandering hands found her chest, she couldn't help whimpering. _Hermione do something! You're strong! You're confident! You're not this person! Is this was pregnancy did? Weaken you? Defend yourself! _She struggled against the bonds he had put upon her hands but her efforts were fruitless. His lips were inches away from hers when—

_BAM!_

"Hermione, you forgot your—What the hell?"

Hermione's invisible shackles fell from her hands and she raced out of the room sobbing, past Ron who was holding up a piece of parchment. Ron watched her go out of the corner of his eye, and by the tears and expression he could tell was just happened.

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" He bellowed, pointing his wand at the towering McLaggen. A gash appeared and blood spurted all over Hermione's rug. Ron strode over in moments and punched his bleeding face. Ron's own face was boiling hot, red as a ripe tomato, and he shook with anger.

He crouched next to McLaggen who was nearly unconscious. His voice trembled. "I'm taking you out of here. I'm going to get you fired if it is the very last thing I do. If you ever even _talk _to _my wife _again, I swear you will pay for it even greater."

McLaggen's face twitched into a smile. "I don't think you should do that, Weasley."

"Why not?" He demanded, using all his power to refrain from punching the smirk off his face.

"Because I can tell her what happened at that bar during our mission, and I really doubt you want that. So, you will let me go, let me clean up, never mention this to anyone. Make sure that bitch wife of yours doesn't either. And, just for the trouble, I'll still let the information slip." He stood up, siphoning off the dried blood with his wand. "You've just made a _big _mistake, Weasley." He left.

Ron stood motionless in Hermione's empty office. _What to do what to do what to do? I have to get him punished, NO ONE touches Hermione like that. She. Is. Mine. But there is no way Hermione can find out about that! Nothing even happened but that is definitely not the way Hermione will see it. I'm going to have to keep her cut off from the rest of the world, McLaggen can't get anywhere near her to tell her. Hermione's going to hate that, being cooped up. But it's for her own good…she'll understand…one day…._

A/N: Hi readers! Sparkshine here. Sorry for the slow chapter, had a lot of tests this week BLAHHH. Spring is coming though, which put me in a good mood for writing. Granted, the end to this chapter wasn't very pleasant or cheerful… but it fits with the plot I'm creating for the story. Sorry for McLaggen's actions…they might seem inappropriate however, when I finish the story, you will see how that factors in. Only 2 or 3 more chapters, but I think I might do a Hugo sequel…thoughts? Ok, I'd like…umm…20 reviews before next chapter? I really think my AMAZING fans can manage that! Faster we reach that, faster the next chapter will be uploaded! Thoughts on this chapter? I'd LOVE to hear them! (No flames please, though…those can be private messaged to me if you have a complaint!) Alright, so…I hope y'all enjoyed, can't wait to see feedback!

XOXO, Love always,

Sparkshine


	17. Month 8: Little White Lies

Month 8: Conversation with the Little White Lies

"Look, you have to tell her, Ron. It's gone on long enough. Is she getting suspicious?"

"I'm not sure. I've almost slipped up a few times but I don't _think _she caught anything. And I can't tell her, it just would not work!"

"You do know what's going to happen, though? She's just going to be mad you lied about it. I'm sure she'll understand. Because I don't even think you _did _anything in the first place. It' s just a misunderstanding."

Harry and Ron were at Harry's house while Ginny and Hermione were at a St. Mungo's appointment. Ron was commencing his plan later that day; to shut Hermione off from the rest of the world so McLaggen would have absolutely no access to her. Harry had been trying to dissuade him from the idea for the past twenty minutes.

"She's going to hate being locked up like that. Might as well build a prison cell. I've known her just as long as you have and the Hermione I know isn't one to sit idly by while there's work to be done. And you know that all that pent-up energy is just going to be taken out on you." Harry pressed.

"I know, I know, but there really is no other way." Ron shot back.

"You could tell her!"

"No! That is not an option!" Ron's fist banged the table. "I don't want to hurt her like that. Ever since the name mistake…"

"What name mistake?" Harry demanded.

"Well Hermione and I were going over possible names and all her names for a girl were stupid. Names like Daisy and Poppy. So I just started listing other ridiculous flowers and I accidentally said Lavender."

Harry smacked his forehead. "You prat."

"I know it was stupid! And it really was an accident." Ron groaned.

"Whatever. When are Hermione and Ginny getting home?"

"'Bout ten minutes I think." Said Ron, glancing at his watch.

"Ron, I'm urging you not to go through with this plan. We will _all _have to suffer. Besides, she's due in a month I really don't think you should make her upset at this point."

Ron's retort was cut off by the sound of the door opening. He quickly went to greet his wife and sister. "You two are home early!"

"Yup, the appointment wasn't as long as we thought it would be." Said Ginny. "Baby's doing great!"

"Isn't it my job to report the results?" asked Hermione in a teasing tone.

"Nope!" replied Ginny cheerfully. "You put me in charge of all these things when you married my brother."

Ron gave her a light shove. Turning to Hermione, he whispered, "Is the baby really doing all right?"

"Of course it is! Why wouldn't it be?" She whispered back.

"I—I don't know, just checking." In reality he was just trying to keep her mind off anything that might upset her. He'd be dealing with enough tantrums the next month.

They turned around. Ginny was in the middle of kissing Harry.

"Ugh, stop that." Ron groaned.

"Shut up Ron. We've watched you and Hermione snog plenty of times."

"Perverts."

Harry blushed. Ginny didn't.

"Haven't we had this argument enough times? You are just too uptight, Ronald Weasley! It's a wonder Hermione can deal with you! I know _I _wouldn't. You're impossible!"

Hermione grabbed Ron's arm. "C'mon, Ron, let's go before you start arguing back." She shot an exasperated look at her sister-in-law, and then gave Harry a quick hug. Ron Disapparated and after a moment Hermione followed.

"It's a wonder how she deals with him!" Ginny repeated when they were gone.

"It's a wonder they deal with each other. They just _don't _get along, except for when they do. I feel sorry for the baby."

"Don't say that!" said Ginny. "I'm sure they—Hermione will be a great parent."

"Just Hermione?" Harry asked, confused.

"Well…Ron's sort of like a big child himself. It might be funny to see him grow up."

At Hermione and Ron's house, they actually were not arguing. Hermione was cooking dinner while Ron read the _Daily Prophet._ The only sound was Hermione cracking eggs into a bowl until Ron let out a shout of disbelief.

"What? What is it?" Hermione asked, whipping around. Egg spattered the floor.

"The Chudley Cannons actually won!" Ron exclaimed. He looked like a little kid on Christmas morning.

Hermione unceremoniously turned her back on him. "You made me spill dinner for _that._ I thought there was an Azkaban escape or something." She muttered. Ron didn't hear her. She could practically feel the ecstatic vibe coming off him. She would never understand men's love for stupid Quidditch games.

She re-made the eggs, slamming them down in front of Ron, who was glowing. "It's just a game, Ron, get over it." She was pretty sure her irritation was from raging hormones. She wasn't one of those wives who got upset when their husband was happier than they were.

He ignored her. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Ron started talking, his mouth full of food. "What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"I don't know. Maybe we can just relax a little together?" She suggested. Ron's insides warmed. His plan was going to work perfectly. At least for three days. He was going to spend the weekend doing everything _she _wanted. He was going to butter her up for the next few weeks when he would keep her confined to the house.

"That sounds wonderful." He smiled. She looked slightly taken aback by his sudden and over enthusiastic agreement, but decided to let it go. She ate two more bites of food before pushing her plate away.

"Do you want the rest?"

"Er, I guess. Why didn't you eat, though? Didn't the Healers say you need to be eating more?"

"How do you know that?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"Harry told me. Ginny told him."

Hermione let out a sigh. _Ginny. _"Yes, but I'm not really hungry."

"Hermione, eat the goddamn food." He said a little angrily.

Slightly scared, she ate the rest of the meal and was surprised how much better she felt. "What would I do without you?"

"Well, the house would probably be a lot neater, your family wouldn't be absolutely mental, and you'd be pregnant with a summer flower child."

She laughed and kissed his cheek. "Why is it that I don't want that?"

"Well, I think it just _might _be because you love me."

"You could be right." Hermione agreed. She walked over to his side of the table, sitting on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her bulging waistline, gently stroking her belly.

"Only one more month now." Hermione whispered.

"Hermione, are you…scared? For the birth, I mean?"

He could feel her breath quicken and knew she was starting to tear up. "I am, Ron. I'm absolutely terrified. I don't think I can do it. What if something goes wrong? What if-?

"Stop that." He said firmly. "You're incredibly brave. I know you will be beautiful."

"Oh, thank you, Ron. But I just don't think I can handle that much pain."

"All this from the girl who was tortured by Death Eaters. You will handle the pain and so much more. You're going to bring our son or daughter into the world." He kissed her hand.

Hermione threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you so much, Ron." She said her voice thick.

He ran his fingers through her hair and didn't say anything.

The next morning, Hermione woke him up just as the birds were starting to sing. "Ron! Ron wake up!"

"Wha-? What is it?" He asked. He rubbed his bleary eyes.

"I had an idea!"

"You woke me up for that? When _don't _you have an idea?" He mumbled.

She looked giddy. He finally really woke up. "Ok, what is it?" he asked, slightly wary.

"I thought of a girls' name! Just in case we're wrong!"

He groaned silently. If he didn't like it, she would get upset. And if she got upset, the plan would not work. "Fine. What is it?"

"So remember how I wanted a flower name but you said all the ones I wrote were stupid? Well I thought of a great one! Rose!"

"Rose?" he asked, thinking it over. To his surprise, he genuinely liked it. "Rose! I like it!"

Hermione giggled. "I even thought of a middle name!"

He raised his eyebrows.

"So I never really thought I'd ever say this, but I think we should name part of the baby after Percy. He's changed a lot since we were at Hogwarts." She threw in the last sentence before he could open his mouth, but plunged ahead when he didn't object. "So I thought if we spelled Percy with an I at the end instead of a Y, it would make it more feminine. Rose Perci!"

He answered by kissing her full on the mouth. "Hermione, I love you. I love the name. I still think it's going to be a boy but if it's not, our baby girl will be beautiful."

They fell back asleep shortly after, Hermione resting easily, finally peaceful.

Hermione didn't wake up again until very late that morning. Ron wasn't in bed anymore, and she hoped he had remembered that they were spending the day together. She walked downstairs, smiling when she heard his footsteps in the kitchen.

"Ron?" She called.

"Hello, love." He walked out of the kitchen and gave her a big hug. _What's with all the lovey-dovey? _Hermione wondered. _Well, I'm not going to complain! _

They spent a very relaxing day just lying around the house or sitting in the sunny backyard. Though the weather was still warmer than usual, a breeze was blowing through the neighborhood, prompting Ron to wrap his arms around her to protect her from the cold. Ron's arms were always a place Hermione felt absolutely safe, no matter what.

The next day, the two were going to spend some more time together but Hermione decided to run over to Ginny's for a little bit. Harry was taking care of James upstairs when Hermione came in. Ginny wasn't bopping around the house like usual; she was sitting on the couch in an unusually subdued manner.

"What's wrong?" asked Hermione, sitting down next to her.

At the first word, Ginny started to cry. Hermione was alarmed. "Ginny, what's wrong?" she repeated with more urgency.

"Hermione," Ginny started, sniffling. "You know how I never actually bring you to your St. Mungo's appointments? You always meet me there?"

"Yes…" said Hermione hesitantly. Where could this possibly be going?

"It's because I always schedule your appointments right after m-mine." Her voice broke and a new wave of tears crashed over.

"Your appoint—Ginny!" She shrieked. "Are you pregnant!"

Ginny sobbed as she nodded. "I'm six months now."

Hermione's mouth fell open in disbelief. "Six months! Ginny you're almost as far as me! Why didn't you tell me!"

"Because it was _your _time. Your time to get all the family attention and all the care and all the gifts. I didn't want to take that away from you."

"Ginny you shouldn't! Oh my gosh!" It was setting in. Ginny was going to have two children in just a few months! "Ginny this is amazing!" She hugged Ginny as she continued to cry. "You should've told me months ago! You know I've never really cared about any limelight."

"I-I know, I'm sorry for e-everything." She hugged Hermione tighter.

"Does Harry know?" Hermione suddenly thought out loud.

Ginny laughed. "Of course he does! How could he not? He's the only one who has noticed my belly growing!"

Hermione's mind raced back over all the times she'd seen Ginny the past few months. It was only now she realized that Ginny's clothes had grown looser; she hadn't been highlighting her body as much. Now that she knew, the hidden baby bump was all she could see.

"Ginny, I have to start planning a party for you to! I—"

"No!" Ginny cut in sharply. "I told you, this is about _you._ I had all the attention when James was born. And I know how stressed you get over planning and it is definitely not what you need in the last month before the birth. No. The family will find out when I call them and tell them I gave birth."

"Ginny there is no way I'm allowing that! Wait until next month, fine, but you're not hiding this for that long!"

"But you'll have just given birth, I—"

"No." Hermione said firmly. "You're telling them as soon as possible. Can I tell Ron?"

"Absolutely not!" Ginny yelled. "He'll just get mad at me for taking away the attention from you! You see, contrary to your belief, he really cares about you. I'm not risking a family row over him."

"How do you expect me to keep this secr—"

"Because you're my sister and I trust you!" said Ginny.

Hermione sighed. "Fine. I should get going. But oh my god Ginny this—"

"Go!"

Back at home, Hermione danced around for a little with joy. She laughed as she twirled around, finally slamming into something hard.

"Why are you so happy?" Ron asked, smiling.

"Sometimes I hate that you're only muscle. It's rather painful at times." Said Hermione, rubbing her head.

Ron laughed. "But why were you dancing? Not that it wasn't extremely amusing."

"Because, er…the Cannons won?"

Ron burst out laughing. "You can't fool me, Hermione, you don't give a damn about Quidditch! Tell me what really happened."

"Fine." She retorted. "Baby James is taking his first steps." This news was actually from a month previously, but Ron didn't seem to notice.

"Oh. That's great, I guess." He still looked slightly confused. Hermione suddenly hugged him very hard.

"Woah, what's this?"

"I don't know. I love you, Ron."

He kissed her hair. "I love you too, 'Mione."

In all truth, he felt extraordinarily bad for what he was planning for the next month. She'd hate him. He'd hate himself. But it was only to protect her and one day she'd understand that, he hoped. As he held her tightly in his arms, he could feel the lies swirling around them, threatening to take away everything they had. But surely they were too small to do anything of permanence…right?

A/N: So if anyone hasn't realized, the title of this chapter is a Taylor Swift lyric from the song Other Side of the Door. It's my new favorite song and I thought this line was perfect. (I just bought front row tix to her concert…can't wait!) So I didn't get 20 reviews but I got close, but coming up next isn't the final chapter, but the birth chapter. SO, if you want it to be as spectacularly dramatic, emotional, and long as I want it to be, I will need at least 20! I know you guys you can do it BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I definitely enjoyed writing it!

XOXO, Love always,

Sparkshine


	18. Finale

Finale: The Lie, the Truth, and the End

_Tap. Tap. Tap._ Hermione's foot drummed against the floor. She was bored to tears. The past two weeks had been absolutely miserable. Ron had told her that she wasn't to go to work, that she had to rest and be at home when the baby decided to come. But she also wasn't allowed to go shopping, go Ginny's house, go to the Burrow, or pretty much leave the house. She wanted to die right there as she lay down on the bed and stared at the white ceiling, wishing more than anything she could simply melt into it and not have to suffer anymore.

Ron was taking time off from work, but only a little. He worked from ten in the morning to two in the afternoon, leaving afternoons and evenings for her. He'd been acting very strange lately. Very…Hermione couldn't put the word on it, but it was something along the lines of jumpy and anxious. She just assumed it was because they only had two more weeks until the baby's arrival. He didn't like her moving much; according to him, she wasn't supposed to run, swim, or walk too much, even though she had told him that exercise was actually very good for pregnant women. She decided not to have another tantrum though; with a new baby in only fourteen days, she wanted them to be totally fine. She knew he was just looking out for her.

"I'm home." A voice called from downstairs.

"So am I. And I have been for the past few weeks." She retorted irritably.

Ron's feet pounded up the stairs. He paused in the doorway smiling. "How was your day?"

She glared at him balefully from the bed. "Terrible."

A frown pulled the corners of his lips down. "Why?" He came to sit next to her by the pillows, drawing her close.

"Because I can't do _anything._" Her internal promise to not throw a fit was crumbling. "I'm so _bored._ I have to _move. _I have to _go. _I have to _work."_ She took a deep breath. "This is so not me."

"I know." He rubbed her back. "But just for two more weeks, love. And then you'll probably be wishing to have too much relaxation time." He kissed her forehead.

She gently pulled herself out of his arms. She didn't want comfort, she wanted freedom. "I still don't understand why I can't walk around the neighborhood or anything. You act like you think something will happen."

Ron shifted uncomfortably. Unbeknownst to Hermione, this was exactly the case. "No, no that's not it…I just want you to be safe."

"From what? The pavement?" She asked sarcastically.

"No, though you have been rather clumsy lately."

"Excuse me for carrying an extra forty pounds of baby on only one side of my body." She said acidly.

"Hey, you know that's not what I meant! I just want everything to be smooth come two weeks." He pulled her close again, hoping she wouldn't move away again. She didn't. "You know that I only want you to be happy."

"But I'm not happy!"

"But you're safe!"

"That's dumb."

"I don't really care how clever it is, I just care that the birth will go easily."

She resisted the temptation to yank herself away again. She really wanted to be close to him, she was just tired of all the pretending.

"I feel like a house." She said suddenly, touching her belly. Lying down, it rose about a foot. She had never felt so huge in her life.

"You still look amazing." He pulled her even closer, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I really don't. I'm a mess and this baby is distorting my body. I'm never going to look the same again."

"Stop talking like that, Hermione. You know that everyone knows that's not true. Look at Ginny! She still looks the same."

Ginny's secret bubbled inside Hermione, and she wanted more than anything to tell Ron that Ginny didn't look the same anymore, that she was carrying another baby. But Ginny had done so much for her, it would've been wrong to tell.

They talked for a little while, ate dinner, and went to sleep. Or Ron did, after his slightly busier day. Hermione was still restless, and it took her a while to calm herself down.

The next morning, Hermione woke up while Ron was downstairs getting ready for work. She tiptoed to the stairs, watching Ron threw the staircase's twisted bars. She laughed to herself when she saw him rumpling his hair in the mirror. _He hasn't changed at all!_

She didn't feel like talking to him at the moment. She went back to sleep, hoping to sleep off some of the day. When she woke up again, it was after noon. She yawned and stretched, and proceeded to clean the house. Again. The place was spotless, but she always managed to find a speck of dust _somewhere._

It was around 1 PM that it happened. A cramp seized her lower body and she gasped in surprise. _The baby? _Another cramp hit her. It felt like her menstrual cramp, just a lot stronger. Her back started to ache. She lay down, groaning. _Should I tell Ron now or when he gets home? I did tell him to carry a telephone with him in case this happened…but should I save it for a surprise? _She decided not to call Ron at that moment.

She waited for Ron in the hallway in the minutes before he arrived, but she heard two sets of footsteps outside. _Who's with him? _Harry and Ron entered together, talking quietly. As they opened the door, she could hear their conversation.

"Ron, tell her today or I will. She's going to find out anyway."

"I—" Ron looked up. Hermione was standing there, her eyes as wide as saucers. Her brain was sparked with anger. _What's he keeping me from me that's so important?_

"Ron." She said, forgetting her excitement to tell her that the baby was coming any day. "What do you have to tell me?"

Harry and Ron froze, Harry looking utterly embarrassed to be caught. Ron looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an automobile.

"Ron." Hermione's tone was growing higher and higher, until she was shrieking. "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO TELL ME?"

Ron's mind was racing. This was not how it was supposed to happen. Oh no.

"Go, quickly, now. I'll take care of this." Harry muttered in his ear. Ron Disapparated.

Hermione screamed and ran to where he disappeared, grabbing the air as if to pull him back. She broke down hysterically, stumbling into Harry. He caught her before she fell, holding her up in his arms. She cried into his chest, her voice incomprehensible. Harry held her closely, rubbing her back.

"What is he h-hiding f-from me?" She wailed.

Harry led her to the couch, helping her sit. He continued to rub her back as she continued to sob. He heard only a few of her words. "Ron…lie…what…tell…I…"

"Shhhh." He whispered. He held his best friend close. It had been a while since just the two of them had spent time together. With her marriage to Ron and his to Ginny, she was often busy with her husband or his wife.

Hermione sniffled, hugging Harry. She loved him like a brother, just like she always had. It was a brother she needed right now.

When she regained control of her voice, she said, "What's he hiding from me, Harry? I know it's big. J-Just please tell me."

"I…I don't know if I can." He answered.

"You have to, Harry. You just have to." A contraction made her freeze up momentarily. Harry noticed her odd convulsion.

"Hermione, what was that?" He asked quickly. "Are you going into labor?"

"O-of course not." Hermione lied. She needed Harry to focus on Ron's lying. "Tell me r-right now Harry. Please."

"I can't, Hermione, it's not my place, I—"

"It is your place!" She screeched, leaping up. Her face contorted in pain; the movement had been too sudden for the baby, who was starting to push. "It's always been your place! You're my best friend this is what you do!"

He stood up, reaching for her elbows to steady her. "It's Ron's job, not me, Hermione. I know I should tell you but I gave Ron my word and that _does _count. I'm so, so sorry." He hugged her. She let herself be comforted for a few minutes before pulling away.

"Fine. Then Ron will tell me. Right. Now." Hermione, dressed in a short, white cotton sundress, suddenly said.

"No, Hermione, you're not supposed to—"

She whirled on him. "How do you know that?" She demanded, her face coloring.

Harry blushed.

It was falling into place now. "You were in on the plan, weren't you? Ron thought I didn't notice but I _did_. There's something he's hiding from me out there in the world and he's been keeping me locked up so I wouldn't find out!"

_She is exactly right._ Thought Harry.

Hermione was nodding to herself. "Yes, yes, and he told _you _because you're his best friend, obviously, but also because he needed to tell someone and that someone was not going to be me! I have to find out what it is." She stormed toward the door. Harry grabbed her arm.

"Hermione, just wait, wait until you cool down. I guarantee if you leave this house right now, you're going to get hurt. Please don't do this to yourself."

She looked in his bright green eyes for a moment, and then shook herself away. "So be it. Ron isn't going to keep lying from me."

Harry watched her Disapparate with a feeling of despair. _This isn't going to end well._

Hermione used the telephone booth to get down to the Atrium. It was here she realized that she was dressed in nightclothes, that her hair looked like a rat's nest, and she wasn't wearing shoes. She quickly cast a few spells, conjuring some shoes and taming her hair. Brushing herself off, she stormed through the Atrium to the golden grilled-lift, ignoring the funny looks she got.

"Auror Department." The cool female voice informed her. The grilles opened and Hermione stormed out. She knew where Ron's office was. As she rounded the corner to his cubicle, a hand grabbed her arm.

"Hermione."

She screamed, attracting attention from a desk worker nearby. "Get the hell off me, McLaggen! Don't touch me!"

"I would just like to apologize for my actions at our last meeting. I was out of line."

Her eyes narrowed. "Fine. I forgive you. Get off me, I need to talk to Ron."

"Wait, I need to show you something. Something about a very interesting mission that you might want to learn about."

Despite her anger at Ron and her disgust of McLaggen, she couldn't help be interested by the thought of work-related excitement. "Fine. What is it?"

He pulled out some photographs. "Take a look." The smile on his face was the slimiest thing she had ever seen.

She took the pictures. Her eyes widened as she flicked through them. _Ron, drunk. Ron's legs entangled with a woman's. Lavender Brown, shirtless, leaning against Ron's chest. Ron and Lavender's faces just inches apart. Ron and Lavender exiting a bathroom, her lipstick smudged. _

Hermione's head wanted to explode. She couldn't believe it. She _wouldn't _believe it. Ron had…cheated on her. With _Lavender._ Her breath quickened and her brain froze. McLaggen, who had looked so smug just moments before, now looked genuinely worried. The tears came, hot and fast, spilling onto her cheeks as she took in that the past few months of love had been a total lie. Ron didn't want her. He wanted a skinny bitch. He didn't want to be with her; to raise their children. He wanted casual hookups with his ex-girlfriend.

"Are you all right?"

She heard McLaggen's voice as if in a daydream. The world was hazy and dull. A hand caught her as she fell, and she faintly heard a woman's voice. "What's wrong? What happened to her? Mrs. Weasley, what happened?"

"My water just broke."

*******************************SCENE BREAK*********************************

"You are, without a doubt, the biggest git I have ever met in my life."

"Shut up, George." Ron snapped. After Disapparating, he'd gone to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, hoping to seek advice from his older brother. It was only now he was realizing that the brother he should be asking for help was _not _the one dressed in yellow and pink striped robes, wearing a six foot tall hat with a toy goblin on top, and sporting a black eye.

"Why would you do that to Hermione?"

"I was drunk, George! _You _know I would never have done that sober!"

"But you say nothing happened?"

"That's right, _nothing really happened."_

"But…"

"But that is definitely not how Hermione will see it." Ron sighed.

"So just tell her!"

"Why is everyone saying that? You guys don't understand Hermione, she will not accept this!"

"Woah. We don't _understand _Hermione? Ronald, you might have married her but we all have known Hermione for just as long as you have. You think I wouldn't do anything for her? Or Mum? Or Dad? Or Ginny or Bill or Percy? She's our _sister_, Ron, and we know what's best for her too!"

George's outburst left Ron a little shocked for a moment. George took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Ron, but you had to hear that. We care about Hermione too, you know."

Ron was nodding. It was getting through to him; the truth had to come out. "George?"

"What?"

"Come with me to the Ministry? I know that's where she is. She would've followed me after I left and that's probably where she thought I was."

George smiled. "Sure, little brother."

They made their way down Diagon Alley, up towards the secret entrance to the Ministry. In the Atrium, a lady from Magical Law Enforcement stopped Ron. "Mr. Weasley! Congratulations, I just heard the news!"

Ron was taken aback. "What news?"

She looked surprised. "I just heard that Hermione was taken to St. Mungo's, because your baby is arriving."

"WHAT?"

She scurried away, looking scared.

Ron whirled around. George's face was white. "Ron, you've got to get to St. Mungo's right now."

"I know…I know….hurry." Ron raced out of the Ministry, George on his heels. _No. No no no no no no. This is not how it was supposed to go. Not at all._

Down that street and up the next, whipping around a corner and sprinting down an alleyway. Ron's heart pounded in his throat as they reached the dummy shop, saying the password. Storming into the reception room, he demanded to see the birth ward.

"Floor six." Said the Welcome Witch lazily, not even glancing up.

Ron and George ran up the stairs three at a time. Ginny and Harry were in the waiting room, along with Fleur and Bill. Ron, totally out of breath, gasped at Ginny, "Where. Is. Hermione?"

Ginny silently pointed to a room across the hall. Her face was white and she was clutching Harry's hand tightly. All the faces in the room looked extremely tense. Ron stormed over to the room and banged on the door.

"Ron!" Ginny whispered, shocked. "You can't do that!"

Ron struggled to turn to doorknob. At once, an elderly Healer slipped out. "Sir, what are you doing? A woman is trying to give birth in there!"

"I know, that's why you have to let me in!"

She checked a list in her hand. "Name?"

"Ron Weasley." His breath was still coming in heaves.

She gave him a bitter smile. "Sorry, you're not allowed in here, dear."

"What the hell are you talking about? THAT'S MY WIFE!"

"Ron!" Ginny squeaked.

"Special request from the patient. You're not allowed in."

"_Special request from the patient?" _Ron's mind raced. _Hermione specially requested not to let me in…oh….dammit! She found out!_

The Healer looked at him pitifully. "You heard me correctly, Mr. Weasley. Now please leave, you're disrupting the office.

Ron stormed out, his eyes burning. He heard someone follow him as he sank down on the staircase and buried his face in his hands. A large hand clapped his shoulder. Harry.

Ron couldn't help the tears that burned his cheeks. He was missing the birth of _his baby._ A tear dripped down to the floor. Harry still didn't say anything, but Ron was glad. They both knew that nothing needed to be said.

Ron was in misery as the minutes passed. He couldn't hear anything, he couldn't stand to see his family knowing that Hermione would welcome them in to show off their beautiful new baby and he, by special request of the patient, _wasn't allowed in._

About ten hours later, or so it seemed (it was probably about two hours), the door opened. "Ron?"

Ginny stood there, tear tracks running down her face. Ron stood up and Ginny immediately hugged as him as tight as she could, trying her best to tell him that everything was going to be all right.

"What happened? Why are you crying?" Ron demanded in a hard voice. He still couldn't believe it. _He'd missed the birth._

Ginny laughed. "I'm crying because it's a beautiful thing! The birth of a beautiful baby…" Her voice trailed off when she noticed Ron's stony face. "Right. Come here." Ginny hugged Harry quickly before leading Ron into the waiting room. It was empty; the rest of the family must be inside the room. Ginny sat him down. "I can't explain the situation to Hermione at the moment, you have no idea how hard the birth was for her. I've never seen anything like it. It looked…" She shuddered. "It looked a thousand times worse than mine must've looked. And it was because you weren't there. George told me the secret, and I want more than anything to tell Hermione the truth. I did find out that she saw pictures given to her by Cormac McLaggen. But I can't tell her now, she's busy. But I know you want to see the baby…" Ginny started crying again. "I just don't know what to do!"

Ron hugged his little sister. "It's okay. I know you don't have to do anything right now. It's okay."

"But your beautiful baby girl—"

"It's a girl?"

Ginny nodded. "She's beautiful, Ron."

_Rose Perci Weasley._

Ron sniffed and inconspicuously wiped a tear from his eye. Just then, the door opened and half the Weasley family spilled out. "Ron." Said Fleur breathlessly. "Hermione wants to see you.

"She does?" He rose to his feet at once, pushing through the throng of people to the door. He took a deep breath before pushing it open.

Hermione lay in a large, soft bed, her sweaty curls fanned out around her, her cheeks pink, and her eyes looking lovingly at a pink-wrapped bundle in her arms.

Ron crossed the room in a few strides and sat by her side. She still hadn't looked at him. Finally, she spoke. "Ron, George told me what happened. Is it true?"

"Hermione, you know I would never do anything like that to you. Ever."

Her voice remained steady. "Well, I don't know that anymore. I saw pictures, Ron."

Ron didn't want this to be their first conversation after the baby's arrival, but he felt he should get it all out of the way. "Those pictures tell the wrong story, though. _Nothing, _and I mean _nothing_ happened. Hermione I didn't even kiss her, I promise."

"You promise?"

"I swear on the life of that baby in your arms."

Hermione finally turned to face him, her face breaking into the biggest smile he had ever seen. He had never seen her look more beautiful.

"Would you like to meet our daughter?" She shifted herself, bringing the bundle closer. Ron looked down at the peaceful, tiny face of his baby girl. _Rose._

"Are you crying Ron?" Hermione asked gleefully.

"No…yes." He smiled at her, kissing her very gently.

"I'm sorry you weren't here. I wanted you to be here so much while it was happening, even though I still believed you'd betrayed me. It was hard."

He climbed into the huge bed beside her and stroked her hair. "Can I hold her?"

Hermione gently passed the baby into his huge hands. She was absolutely tiny. Her eyes were closed but her little mouth was open. Ron ran his thumb tenderly over her chubby cheeks. "Hermione, she's absolutely beautiful."

A/N: WEL? I didn't get 20 reviews but I JUST COULDN'T WAIT TO PUT THIS UP! WOW. What did you think? I have no requirements for the next chapter, which will be like a little "after the story" epilogue of sorts, but I REALLY want you to tell me what you though! Was the way the truth came out good? Hermione's reaction? The birth? TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! I hope you enjoyed This is the longest chapter I've EVER WRITTEN. So please please please tell me how it was!

XOXO, Love always,

Sparkshine


	19. Epilogue

Epilogue

A/N: I'm REALLY SORRY. I really wanted to do like a couple more chapters of this story, you know, outlining what happens and Ginny's pregnancy and such, but I'm finding it hard and slow to write out that because I'm in the middle of outlining the plot for the sequel! So the sequel will be up in about two days (and I have a great title for it!), but here is a really sucky plotless ending. Soooo sorry, but this was taking too long to focus on but I didn't want to leave the story hanging…So the first chapter of the sequel will be up in about 1-2 days, so no one has to review this or anything because I already know this is NOT my best writing by any means. But if I'm on your author alert or you see my story list…the sequel will be up shortly!

Ron walked through the living room to where Hermione sat on the couch. Baby Rose was in her arms, and she was cooing softly. Ron sat on the edge of the couch and brushed her hair out of her eyes. Hermione smiled up at him.

"How was work?"

"Fine, I guess. I missed you two." Ron was getting used to saying "two." He liked the sound of it.

"We missed you too." Hermione _shhhh_'d Rose as the baby let out a tiny cry.

"What's wrong? What does she want?" Ron demanded anxiously.

"Calm down Ron, she's just tired. I'll put her in for a nap." Hermione kissed Ron's cheek as she stood up, cradling Rose.

"Wait—I'll take her. You rest yourself. You've been working too hard, I reckon. You'll go mental."

"Yes, because after three weeks of being locked up in my own house by my own husband, taking care of my child will be the thing to drive me crazy," said Hermione sarcastically.

Ron looked down, embarrassed. He still felt very bad about that. "C'mon, Mione, I'll take Rosie." The two of them were already nicknaming her. "You rest or something."

"I'll go with 'or something'. I don't feel like resting."

Ron took her face in his hands. "Hermione, you have to rest. It's _healthy._ I'm putting Rose in for a nap, and you lie down or take a nap yourself."

She sighed. "Fine." She unloaded the tiny baby into her husband's arms. In Hermione's thin arms, Rose always look perfectly sized but in Ron's beefed-up arms she looked abnormally small. "Just remember that the blankets in the bassinet have to be fluffed and—"

"I know, I know!" Ron carried the baby upstairs carefully.

After rushing around and barely sleeping for the past week since the birth, Hermione found it difficult, almost wrong, to relax. She lay down on the couch, rolling around, trying to get comfortable. She wasn't happy with the idea of resting while there was work to be done. Truth be told, she didn't 100% trust Ron with baby duty. She didn't trust his parenting instincts and she didn't trust his overlarge feet.

Upstairs, Ron was laying Rosie down in her bassinet. He kneeled beside it as he watched his daughter quietly drift off into a peaceful slumber. He smiled to himself. He felt something around Rosie that he had only ever felt around Hermione; protectiveness. He knew he would never let anything hurt his little girl.

It was dark outside the window when Hermione opened her eyes. The moon shone down on her face and she blinked blearily. She wasn't on the couch anymore; she was in her bedroom. She flipped herself over to the other side. It must not have been that late; Ron was reading by light of his wand.

"Since when do you read?" She mumbled sleepily.

Ron jumped. "Hermione! I didn't know you were awake."

She yawned. "I just woke up. What happened?"

"I put Rosie in for a nap and found you asleep on the couch. It seems even Super-Mothers need their rest. It only took you three minutes!"

"Damn, I really shouldn't have fallen asleep! What time is it?"

"'Round midnight, I think. I carried you up here a little while ago. Bloody passed out, you were." Said Ron.

Hermione wiggled closer to him, pulling the blankets up to her chin. Resting her head on his shoulder, he put an arm around her, squeezing her for warmth. "Mmm." She sighed happily.

They lay there for a few minutes in complete silence, just enjoying each other and the peaceful silence.

"WAHHHH!" The silence was shattered by a cry from the room over. The couple groaned.

"I got it." Said Hermione, climbing out of bed. Ron beat her to it.

"No way. You still need to rest. Go back to sleep, I'll take care of her." He gently pushed Hermione back into bed and left the room before she could say another word.

The next morning, Hermione woke up late. The sun blinded her momentarily as she reached over to wake up Ron. Her hand hit empty air and pillow. Sitting up fast, she realized that her husband wasn't in bed. Climbing out quickly, she raced downstairs. Nowhere to be found.

"Ron!" She called. "Ronald!"

Dashing upstairs, she caught sight of a head of red hair in Rosie's room. Tiptoeing in, she giggled when she took in the image in front of her.

Ron had obviously fallen asleep while trying to calm Rose down. His head flopped over the bassinet and he was snoring so loudly that Hermione didn't know how Rose slept through it.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." She sat down next to him and nudged his shoulder.

"Wha—h—I—" Ron woke up with a start.

"You fell asleep last night when you were putting Rosie to sleep again. I think we're both exhausted, to be honest."

Ron groaned and his head flopped back down again.

"My point exactly!" She smacked him. "Get up, Ron, you're going to wake up Rosie!"

Ron almost sleepwalked out of the room and down the stairs. Hermione kept a wary eye on him, suspecting that as soon as her back was turned he'd fall back asleep on the couch. Sure enough, as soon as they were downstairs he fell on the couch and started snoring.

Hermione let out an "arghhh!" sound in the back of her throat, but decided to let him rest. Better him wide awake a little later than dead on his feet right now.

But four hours later, after Hermione had already gone running, fed Rosie, cleaned Rosie, cooked lunch, burped Rosie, _and _put Rosie for a nap, she was tired of Ron's laziness. Grabbing a skillet off the stove, she marched over and hit him over the head. Ron yelled and sat up, rubbing his head which now sported a large red bump. He let out a string of curse words, ending with "What the bloody hell, Hermione?"

She couldn't help herself; she giggled. He didn't seem to find it as funny, but waved his wand, vanishing the bump and diminishing the pain. "What the hell?" He repeated, still rubbing his head.

She shrugged. "You've been sleeping too long and there's work to be done. Figured you should wake up with a bang."

"And hitting me with a frying pan was the _only _thing you could think of?" he muttered. Hermione didn't hear him.

"Hermione," Ron started a little later in the day, "I was thinking—"

"Well, that's a surprise on its own, isn't it?"

He scowled. "Maybe we could have Mum take care of Rosie for the night? It would give us some time to relax and be alone with just each other, and you know Mum would be overjoyed."

Hermione actually considered this. "I don't know…it's only been a week. She'll think I'm inadequate to—"

"Don't say that! You know she's thought very highly of you after, y'know, _you helped defeat Voldemort."_

"But you know she still thinks a little badly of me trekking across the countryside for nine months all alone with two boys."

"But she'll jump at the chance to take care of another baby. Especially a girl. She only had one daughter, remember?"

Hermione smiled. "Fine. But _you _ask her, not me. And if she says yes, I think that'll be great!"

Of course Ron was right. Molly Weasley would never pass up a chance to babysit a baby girl. Now that all her kids were grown, she lived through her grandchildren.

Hermione was a little bit of every emotion as she dressed for the evening. She was giddy with excitement at having some alone time with Ron, but a little anxious about being away from Rose. She selected a simple pink dress and tied her hair in an elegant knot. She knew they were just spending time at home but she still wanted to look nice. Her perfectionist instincts often came out at times like these.

"You look fantastic." Ron whispered in her ear when she walked downstairs.

"Thank you, Ron." She beamed.

The dinner Hermione had prepared was delicious, or so Ron said. Then again, he thought nearly everything was delicious. After the meal, Hermione whispered. "Come here, I want to show you something." She led him out to the sprawling backyard.

"I don't see anything different." Ron noted.

"No, nothing's different…just come here." She took his hand and pulled him down to the ground, where she lay down beside him. "Look at the stars."

Ron looked up. In the cool fall air, the stars shone brightly.

"I love you, Ron." Said Hermione suddenly. She curled towards Ron on the grass, pressing her body against his. Pulling her up against him, he kissed her softly.

"Hermione, do you think we're going to have more children?"

"We are _not _going to talk about that."


End file.
